These Instances
by Akavet
Summary: Creek. Craig absent-mindedly kisses Tweek one day. Tweek kisses back. Both being clueless about these things, choose to forget instead. However, they end up forced into a certain situation where they'll finally get it.
1. One Lazy Saturday

Okay, I have LOVED South Park couples to the death of me, but this is the first time I'm attempting my favorite South Park couple: Creek! So don't judge too harshly and make sure to leave a review!

I've also noticed how South Park fandom is slowly dying nowadays. SIGH.

Anyways… :D

* * *

Craig sits at his sofa, surfing channels, a bored, expressionless face cemented on him. It's still early morning, and his family is sleeping it all away from upstairs. "Damn it, Red Racer's only on weekdays." Giving a weary sigh, he gets up off the sofa to turn off the TV and sets the remote down gently at its side. _I really have to get over this kiddie show._ He slaps his palms over his face and mutters out an obscured obscenity. Out of the crack of his fingers, he eyes his cell phone at the edge of the sofa. _Should I call Clyde or Token over? ... Damn, Clyde told me he was going out of state for a while. And Token and I always have awkward silences together without a third person there. On top of that, he's probably going to beat the crap out of me if I wake him up so early. _He goes through his contact list lazily and stops at a name. _Tweek Tweak._ Craig fumbles around with his phone, scrolling around as he started to reminisce.

Tweek and Craig weren't the closest of friends. They were polar opposites as well as having completely different interests. The two hung out together often times in school and ate beside each other at lunch tables. Yet did they really have exciting, face to face chats? Not exactly. Last time they really "did something together" was when Cartman, Stan, and Kyle set the two up on a fight. He had kicked Tweek's ass as well as gotten his own ass thoroughly kicked. Promptly after that, the two were hospitalized, accompanied only by each other. Those weren't fun times.

_Still, he's not that bad. Probably awake too since he rarely sleeps the required amount of hours. He's cool... Except for those twitches. _Craig went into deep thought. _Nah._ He started to scroll around his contact list for his name once more. _I can live with those twitches._ He puts his phone to his ear as it starts to connect. It's picked up almost instantly with a "Gah!" along with muffled yells. Craig managed to mutter out an uneasy "Hello?" before the line went dead. He stares warily at the phone. "What was _that _about?"

* * *

"Argh! What the-?" Tweek jumps off his chair as he feels his phone vibrating at his side pocket. His coffee is spilled on the floor as he fumbles with his left hand to pick up the hot liquid. With the other hand, he reaches into his pockets to pick up the phone and accidentally clicks 'Answer.' "Gah! Who's calling? Who's calling?"

"Hello?" _C-Craig? _The phone slips from his hand and drops into the hot liquid below.

"Jesus! Is it broken?" He picks up the drenched phone, wiping it inefficiently on his sleeve before redialing and reluctantly putting it to his ear. With his free hand, he removes his shirt, slipping it off pretty easily. Tweek was now slightly shivering as he sat crouched on the floor wiping away at the coffee on the tiled floor. _Thank God the coffee mug was plastic and that the ruckus didn't wake up his parents. _Not that it was ever good to store hot liquid in plastic though.

"Yes?" The familiar, bored voice of the monotone Craig could be heard answering on the other line.

"S-sorry, man, I-"

"-Dropped the phone." He interrupted.

Tweek gives him an uncomfortable laugh. He couldn't tell whether Craig was just stating facts or smiling as he said it. But then again, he never smiled. "Yeah, you know me…" He coughs nervously into his free hand as he continues talking. "So why'd you call me?" There is a long pause; Tweek could imagine the thinking face Craig had on at the moment. He was always so calm and stoic that Tweek couldn't help but stutter in the unfriendly atmosphere.

Just when Tweek was getting accustomed to the silence, Craig answered with an abrupt and blunt: "I'm bored." giving Tweek another jump.

"Gah! Uh, well, what the hell you want me to do about tthat? I thought you liked th-things nice and boring." _Another stutter. Damn it. No matter how slow and relaxed he is out of everyone, I end up stuttering more in his company than Cartman and those guys._

"Yeah."

_He really doesn't talk much, does he? _"Argh! W-well? Yeah what?"

"I _do_ like things nice and boring. Just not by myself like some loner." Before Tweek had a chance to reply, Craig went on. "Keep me company. Are you at Harbucks right now?"

"Uh, no, my house."

"Huh. Really." He states. "Well, I'm nearby. Let's just hang out there then. You don't mind, right?" He started to walk in the direction of Tweek's house.

"Uh, o-okay… It's going to be real boring though." Tweek ran off into his bedroom, grabbing for a new T-shirt. Craig stopped walking before giving a small sigh and continuing once more.

"If it gets so boring that not even _I _can't stand it, we can go somewhere else. Name a place."

He ran into his room, fumbling through his dresser before slipping on a green dress shirt, an exact copy of the one that he was wearing previously. "Mnn. Mm…" Tweek started to make a low moaning sound as he thought, each one growing more jittery as time progressed. Craig couldn't help but hear the soft sounds that Tweek made as his tongue clicked with the roof of his mouth. "Too much pressure, I don't know, man!" Craig nearly fell forward as he walked. _Damn, this guy can be real loud when he wants to be._ Then he realized how close he had been listening in this whole time.

"How about the arcade, Tweek?"

"Do you really think it'll be open this early in the morning?"

"Okay, what about the park?"

"Ngh! Okay… B-but there's not much to do at the park in South Park. It's always s-snowing h-here. Gah!"

"… Dude, you should lay off the coffee. You're not even outside yet and it sounds like you're shivering." Craig said matter-of-factly. "Dude?" Tweek didn't answer, and Craig heard a button press before the line went dead. "Huh. He hung up." Craig couldn't help but feel a little annoyed as he continued to walk his way toward wherever his feet led him.

A low whisper came from behind Craig. Tweek was wearing his same get-up instead now with a long, black scarf wrapped around his neck and plain, brown snow gloves. "Here I am…" His face was slightly flushed. Craig slowly eyed him up and down as Tweek grew even more rigid and uncomfortable. Tweek tried to focus his attention away to a tree stump on one of the neighbor's yards. _Does Craig have to stare… Like that? _Craig was always known for his poker face, no one could tell whether he felt happy or sad, angry or not. His gaze didn't help much, giving an even more eerie air to the already gloomy, dark kid. On top of that, he didn't have the most enthralling answers when someone outside of the gang tried to initiate a conversation with him. Tweek started to count the bumps and crevices of the tree stump before Craig finally spoke up. "Aren't you cold?" Tweek's face immediately snapped towards the raven haired boy.

"N-no! I'm fine!" Tweek said, shaking his hands in front of him, volume unsteadily rising to that of a boom box.

Craig's ears were going to die a slow and painful death this morning. "Whatever. Let's just walk around."

"Uh. J-just walk around?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Until _you_ can make up your mind on where to go." Craig snapped, or at least, Tweek thinks it was a snap. His voice rarely changed volume or tone.

"Don't be a dick, let's just go somewhere you want." Tweek grumbled. That statement ended with an immediate flick of the bird from an equally annoyed Craig.

"I walked around practically everywhere in South Park. I'm not exactly excited to go anywhere in particular." He mumbled, breathing into his gloves occasionally.

"Ngh! Then I guess we're walking around for a _long_ time." Tweek wasn't sure why he took up the offer to go hang out with Craig. No, he wasn't sure why Craig invited him in the first place. They were good friends, but he always considered himself kind of the odd one out in Craig's gang. _Now that I think about it, how did we even become friends?_ Tweek looked up at Craig. He was taller than him by one inch or something, not that big of a height gap. He started to look intently at Craig's features as he attempted to remember their past talks. Craig was slim, not exactly muscular, far from fat, and he had on black jeans that clung semi-tightly to his long legs. He was one of the tallest boys in the class, everyone else being on the pretty average height size, in comparison, he looked long and gangly next to others.

Tweek himself wasn't short, but he looked shorter with his loose, mismatched clothing. His jeans hanging loosely at his waist as well as being spacious enough to blow cold air into them, gave him an awkward lean whenever he walked. He started to notice Craig's eyes more often nowadays too. The icy blank stares he had were coupled with two golden eyes, pretty to look at, but damn, Craig's stares were pretty unsettling.

He grows aware of Tweek's staring, and looks right back at him, their eyes meeting. However, the moment is fleeting since they almost immediately break eye contact, looking in the opposite direction. "Err… Let's go to your house, Craig. G-got any new video games?" Tweek's breaths were visible in the cold air as he huffed clumsily to maintain warmth. Then he noticed Craig was standing closer than before. "Err… Ngh! Craig! Dude?"

"Sorry. … I didn't know your eyes were that color. They're kind of like the color of coffee." He gave a small chuckle and Tweek thought he was going deaf.

"Y-you laughed?" _Oh, wait, I didn't mean to say that out loud…_

Craig's smile faded. "And if I did?" He sounded solemn once more.

A shiver ran down his spine. He didn't want to see the raven-haired boy angry, he tended to hold grudges an awful lot when he felt truly insulted. "Not in that way. It's just – you sounded – ngh – happy… I m-mean thanks… Thanks."

"… You're welcome." His voice sounded genuinely soft, not the rigid monotone he usually spoke in. It also sounded more airy as if he had been holding his breath before speaking, breathing in a lungful of air as he answered. All of a sudden, Tweek felt a black glove hold him by the shoulder and not too gently, wrenched his face to face him with the other gloved hand.

"H-huh?" He uttered, puzzled beyond anything. And the next action had him speechless.

Craig, who was first, his enemy, then, his dear friend. The one guy who placed Red Racer and his guinea pig, Stripes, over everything else in the world. That if anyone dared to hurl an insult at either one of the two, he would ensure they would never sit again without screaming in agony at the pain that overcame their thoroughly kicked ass. Craig, who was cold and emotionless, as if the most beautiful moment or the most disturbing scene couldn't make him flinch.

_That_ Craig… Had planted a kiss upon his lips. It was a chaste kiss, only their lips meeting and nothing else. A loose hand was placed over Tweek's shoulder whilst the other one was nice and toasty inside Craig's pockets. He bent over slightly, and neither waist nor legs met in this innocent, little kiss. However, Tweek was freaking out as he put both hands to Craig's shoulder and wrenched him off.

"GAH! Wh-What was _THAT_ about?" He screamed. Wow, if Craig thought he was loud before, he hadn't heard any of it yet.

"… Hm. I don't know, I guess I… just felt like it." He answered plainly, as if that answer made perfect, rational sense to himself; as if he had answered four to a simple math question. He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders as he did so.

"… You just _felt_ like it?" Tweek's voice surprisingly went calm. He had used up most of his energy on the scream before. "You just kissed me because you just_ felt_ like it?" Tweek sounded angry now. _... And would I be getting unnecessarily mad since I kind of liked it? … Damn it, I need a mocha latte._

Craig's eyes couldn't help but go a little wide. He never saw Tweek get angry, only paranoid. He stared straight ahead before scratching idly at his neck when Tweek furrowed his eyebrows, wrinkling it at the center. Craig's answer is delayed. "I guess so…" Now he couldn't help but feel confused at his own actions, and Craig almost never did. He always held his actions in pure confidence, as if he knew what he was doing and that what he was doing was right. However weird the kiss felt, he couldn't help but kind of like its weirdness.

Tweek looked extremely addled, more so than any other time he felt confused. He waved his head around as he started to scratch at the back of his neck uneasily. "Uh… Well, okay?" Tweek was either extremely nice to just let this go, or still caught up in the moment and extremely baffled. "Uh… Ngh! Uh…" He was also at a loss for words. _What was I saying before? _"Ah, right… L-let's just go walking around then." His jitters were back. Craig nodded hesitantly, and they continued to walk until Craig stopped in his tracks. Tweek didn't bother to look behind him; he stopped in his tracks as well and merely waited.

"Hey, Tweek?" The voice was low and husky as Craig had slowly started to react to what he had done before.

"Y-yeah?" He gulped, then he felt footsteps approach once more before he saw Craig stand beside him, hands stuffed into his pockets. "W-what?" Craig met eyes with him once more and Tweek merely greeted back with an awkward half smile. Their faces slowly moved close until their lips met once more. They both closed their eyes and leaned into the innocent enough kiss before lightly trailing the tip of their tongues against each other. Tweek put his hands to cup Craig's cheeks and he shivered softly under the cold touch. Craig leaned in a little more before Tweek promptly did the same. It wasn't a girly, peachy kiss, but just some average teenage boys tongue wrestling on the street, loving how their family was probably asleep right now. Running out of air, they split apart, panting a little. Craig wipes his lips on a sleeve while Tweek smears his on the palm of his gloves. They stood in silence for what seemed like hours, both faces apparently in deep thought.

"…"_He… He tasted like coffee. Why am I not surprised? _He unconsciously licked his lips at the small trait of coffee that was left. _I think it's an Americano._

"…"_ Craig tastes minty. Spearmints… With a little bit of peppermint. _Tweek had extra experience tasting them in little packets for coffee and frappuchino flavoring.

Both cheeks seemed flushed and their faces looked aged and exhausted at the clash of emotions that overcame their minds.

Craig brushes his bangs over and straightens his hat as Tweek flexes his shirt collar before rewrapping the scarf around himself.

Moments later, they are seen tapping their feet idly as more awkward silence ensues. Finally, one of the two decides to break the silence.

"… Let's… Play some Call of Duty back at my house." Craig managed to finally murmur.

"… Y-yeah, uh, sure, Craig." _Somehow, I know I won't be winning too many matches today. _

* * *

Like Tweek had predicted, he didn't win too many watches, although he could tell Craig wasn't trying too hard nor doing too hot either. There have been way too many one hit kills that it couldn't have just been luck or coincidence. Basically, the boys were just generally sucking so much that each time one of them decided to shoot ended up with an immediate death. Playing video games the entire Saturday, speaking absolutely no words to each other, and being tired as hell, they consequentially ended up falling asleep on the floor besides Craig's bed. Although, they wouldn't be able to sleep much, since they initially fell asleep at 5:00 a.m.

Tweek was the first to stir awake, not being accustomed to sleeping more than four hours. "Oh God, my head…" He started to feel extremely lanky without the energy inducing coffee that he was so addicted to. He poked Craig. The boy slept like a rock. He poked him one more time. Craig flipped him off in his sleep and Tweek wasn't having it. Pokes soon turned to jabs, jabs turned to punches, and punches turned to kicks.

He started to groan in pain before sitting up whilst clutching his arms. He was half awake and his eyelids were near shut. "Damn it, don't make me return you to fucking Target!" He hissed while attempting to hit the "Off" Switch on Tweek's head. Nobody liked getting kicked in the gut by their alarm clock.

"Ow, dude, it's me!" Tweek's voice was perfectly steady, sounding normal without the stutters littered in like usual.

"Tweek? What are you – Oh, I remember. God, you kick hard, you having coffee withdrawal symptoms?" He yawned. Craig, unlike Tweek, needed more than just four hours of sleep.

Tweek gave a sarcastic chuckle. "C'mon, dude, your parents will be coming in soon. Get ready for your church and if you don't mind, I'm gonna' make myself a nice cup of coffee."

"… You're different when you don't have coffee." Craig murmured before slipping his shirt off for his white dress shirt and black tie. Tweek's mouth momentarily dropped. He'd never seen Craig shirtless before, and when he did, well…

"Wow, didn't know you were so pale…" _He has a lean, skinny back; skin white as porcelain. _Tweek resisted whistling after him.

"Hm, didn't know you were still staring." Craig countered. Although he was merely stating it for a fact that he didn't know, Tweek took it personally and gave a nasty grimace.

_Great, now he thinks I'm ogling him. Well, I was ogling… Let me rephrase: Great, now he KNOWS I'm ogling him. _"Well, I –" Tweek resisted saying a witty comeback. "I-I am going downstairs."

"Okay. We have French Vanilla Mix Coffee." Craig mumbled, voice groggy, but monotone like always.

Tweek smacks his lips. _That sounds good for now._

Both boys bid each other goodbye as Craig got ready for Roman Catholic Church sermons alongside his family whilst Tweek took some souvenirs from his house (six instant French Vanilla Mix packets).

Both recalled the kiss from the day before yet neither wanted to. However, not being experienced in such things, they didn't really put much thought into it. Instead, they chose to continue their friendship, distant yet close, awkward yet perfect.

* * *

Monday. School in the morning.

Craig and Tweek walk toward the bus stop together before seeing Token standing there by himself. Tweek gives a small wave before Token gives a small nod of acknowledgement. Craig mutters an unenthusiastic "Hey."

"Hey, this get together feels one person short, huh?" Token says.

"Yep." Craig agreed whilst Tweek merely nodded. Tweek never really talked to Clyde or Token so he felt awkward whenever either one of the two spoke up or were mentioned in conversation.

"Did something over the weekend?" Token asks, making idle conversation.

Tweek thinks things over as does Craig. "Not much." They answer in unison, not too surprised at each other. Token gives a small bob.

"Me neither."

The boys stand awkwardly with no other words as the bus arrives with the same demented lady as always. Craig tries to ignore her annoying screeches as he takes a seat at the bus beside Tweek. Token takes a seat somewhere in the back, usually he would be seated besides Clyde.

The night before, Craig had spent the night over at some preacher's house, currently dying a little of the sleep he was deprived off. He started to nod off in the window seat before falling asleep on Tweek's shoulder. Tweek himself didn't look too rejuvenated, spending the entire night awake, thinking about the "incident" on the street in Saturday morning. They butted heads when Tweek himself leaned towards his left. Despite their throbbing heads at the painful "whack," they slept on with a contented snore, Tweek having a small drool spot at the side of his mouth. Wendy and Stan, who sat across from them, looked at the sight.

Wendy put a hand to her mouth and gave out a small giggle. "They're so cute together." Stan merely gave an unsure nod.

Cartman and Kenny were seated directly behind the couple. Peering over to the sleeping duo, a certain bulb in Cartman's evil head lit up as he remembered. "Hey Stan! You still owe me money for that bet!" He climbed over Wendy and Stan (or as much as he could in his seat) whilst Kenny protested at the lack of space.

"W-what? Dude, that bet is ancient! Do you know how much time has passed since then?" Stan grumbled as Wendy merely rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, a lot. Anyway, I fucking won, Craig fucking won! You and Jew boy owe me!"

"Hey, fat-ass, I bet you don't even remember how much money we bet." Kyle added, being only a couple rows away from them. He was currently seated next to the exchange student from France. Said French boy seemed to be dozing away with a cigarette placed between his lips. Cartman looked behind him only to meet eyes with his arch-enemy. Stan could have sworn he saw lightning flashing between the two's hateful glares.

"Yeah, well, it's like five bucks or something!" Cartman growled. "And by the way, since like a fucking century passed since then, you owe me all the added interest and tax shit too!"

"What tax? You're not the fucking IRS, Cartman!" He shouted back.

"The hell with Interior Residual Spraying! I don't need no rats exterminated in my house!" he countered. Kyle merely scoffed as Stan slapped his face down on his palm. Kenny mumbles an obscenity obscured by the neck of his hoodie before giggling. He had apparently commented about Cartman's mother needing things exterminated in her nether regions."Hey, fuck you, Kenny, don't say that about my Mom!"

Kyle laughs before speaking up: "Cartman, if I remember right, didn't Craig get the shit beaten out of him when Tweek attacked him in the hospital?"

"He got the first punch in, but he didn't kick his ass!"

"Oh really? If I remember correctly, there wasn't any clear winner either, they were both just pussies." Cartman gave a glare of disbelief. "God, if you care so much, you can just ask them, you know?" Kyle grumbled.

"Ha, your Jew God won't help you here, I know Craig won." Cartman said self-assuredly, nose high up in the air and snobby. "… Hey Kyle, can I borrow your hat for a second?" Kyle raised an eyebrow, confused why Cartman would bother asking at all and why he would need it. He looked at him grudgingly before grumbling and throwing it over. Cartman answered with a phony "Thank you very much." before bombarding Tweek's face with the soft cloth, whacking soft skin with a large "Smack." Tweek immediately stirred awake at the mega-ton slap that stung the side of his face; Craig's head slid down before making another "Smack" on the seat cushion from behind Tweek. Kyle rolled his eyes.

Tweek responded with a nasty glare to the grinning Cartman as he rubbed his aching cheek. _He looks like a fat-ass version of the Cheshire Cat with that pedo-smile._ "W-what do _you _want?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. … Craig beat your ass up so you're his bitch now, right? Answer in the next five seconds." Cartman muttered.

Tweek merely leered at him, mouth opening a couple of times to respond before closing.

"I'll take that as a yes, see?" Cartman looked over triumphantly at a stunned Kyle before Craig spoke up.

"I was wondering why Tweek shifted so damn violently why I slept so well." Craig grumbled, voice still monotone, but with a tinge of annoyance at the rude awakening. "… Look, neither of us won. We found out you guys were blatantly lying to us before any result came." He, without delay, flicked off Cartman after saying so. _Now my cheek hurts from slamming down on the hard seat cushion._

"Craig, you dick, you sucked the fun out of my soon-to-be unfair victory." Cartman grumbled. Craig didn't respond but just kept his middle finger raised. "Look, you can put that finger down now or you'll be shoving it up your own ass soon."

"… Uh-huh. I get my face slammed down on a rabies-infested bus seat and _I'm _a dick? You're the one PMS-ing over a past bet and _I _deserve a finger up my ass?" Craig mumbled none too happily. Cartman merely blubbered his lips.

"What about a fight, Craig?" He threatened.

He lowers the offensive finger as he shrugs. He answers almost immediately with a lethargic "Nah."

"W-what? Oh, not this again! You always do the smack talking but when someone actually brings up the fight, you just say: 'No.' That's not cool, man!"

"I'm not going to waste my time fighting you."

"Shit, not me! You and Tweek, mano a mano, whatever that shit means… You know, a _rematch_?" He insinuates 'rematch,' rolling the r softly while bobbing his head to the side and trying to look… Er… Threatening?

He stares on blankly. "… Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? It's so _you guys_ can settle _this _once and for all!"

"… Settle _what_?"

"… Ugh, don't be so difficult! So one of you guys can lose, and Kyle, Stan, and I can settle the bet!"

"I'm still not getting it. What does _any _of this have to do with _us_ specifically?" Craig says, looking jadedly, arms crossed.

"Well, uh… Nothing."

"… Exactly." Craig gives a small scoff before turning back and dozing on the window. Tweek and Stan merely stare on, searching for a reaction on Cartman's dead face. Kyle and Wendy are already trying to look the other direction for Cartman's eventual spectacle, and of course, his eventual demise to make things go his way, and sadly enough, it almost always would in the end.

Suddenly, Cartman snaps out his stupor and yells to the top of his lungs, everyone on the bus turning heads to look at the despairing big boned boy. He screams the entire time, screams until they reach their stop: school. He huffs and puffs before making a dramatic jump off the bus. Everyone else follows hesitantly, nobody too excited to get to class. Butters then adds his first comment for the day: "Cartman?" To which Stan and Kyle nonchalantly responded: "Yep."

* * *

"Hey Tweek, did you know that Craig called you a douche bag?"

"Gah! You again... Cartman, I was on the bus with you, I heard everything, d-dumb-ass." Tweek grumbled as he stood in the cafeteria line next to the scheming soon-to-be dictator.

"Okay, but did you know that Craig called your mom a transvestite that loves whoring herself off to rapists at the Red Light District?"

"I was _right _there! Ngh! You're not going to fool me!"

"... Did you know that Craig is actually a gnome in disguise, trying to steal your underwear _every _time you're not looking?"

"..." Tweek remained silent for a second before socking Cartman square in the jaw. "Don't even j-joke about that shit, man!" He started to carry his lunch tray and walk away as Cartman held his throbbing jaw.

"OW! Asshole, did you know that Craig dreams of shoving his dick up your ass?" Cartman screamed. _Ow, that hurt... _He thought while still clutching his jaw. Tweek froze in spot.

_Oh, God... Does he know about... "That" incident? Is he making fun of me? Wait, no, of course he doesn't know... _He continued to walk on normally, but his small hesitant misstep didn't go unnoticed by Cartman.

"Huh. I guess ass-fucking is a soft spot for Tweek..." He mumbled to himself before taking his regular spot along with the rest of the gang. Kyle gave him a small fuming glare while Stan and Kenny gave him a small bob of acknowledgement. "Hey guys, did you know Tweek has a soft spot for ass-fucking?" Stan nearly spit out his soup.

"I'm eating, dude!" Stan groaned in disgust. He didn't want to visualize a butt-fuck while having breakfast.

"What are you on _now_, Cartman?" Kyle hissed, immediately catching on to the fact that there was something up.

"I have an idea." He sneered before Wendy and Bebe took a spot beside the four boys. "What? Why are you here?" He grumbled, pointing at Wendy. She gave a small peck on Stan's cheek as he nearly gagged on his pea soup. She glared at Cartman's comment before speaking up.

"Cartman, are you _still _scheming about how to get Tweek and Craig to fight?" Wendy groaned.

"Yeah, it's not going to work. They're like _this._" Bebe added, crossing her index and middle finger in demonstration. "You can't break a bro-bond so easily, you know?"

Kenny mumbles something else inappropriate. Kyle and Stan merely made a disgusted face. They shrug it off as Kenny snickers into the bottom rim of his hoodie.

Kyle faced his attention back to Cartman. "Bebe's right, you know. They're best friends, like Stan and me."

Stan nodded. "Yeah, Kyle and I are inseparable, dude." He pauses. "But... To be honest... I'm kind of for Cartman's plan this time." Wendy and Kyle looked off in shock. "No, no, it's just... I want to see what happens, you know? There's something up between the two of them."

"... You mean, like they're a couple?" Bebe smiled, Wendy giggling beside her.

"Well... Not exactly, but... _Well._ Yeah, pretty much." Stan grumbled.

"Hn. They're both kind of stupid though." Cartman grumbled.

"Ha! Look who's talking, fat-ass!" Kyle laughed, Wendy joining shortly after.

"Haha. I mean they're clueless about shit. They couldn't even fight! What makes you think they'll know about _mushy romance, kissy, lovey-dovey_ stuff?" Cartman added.

"Hm. You're right... _For once._" Wendy snapped. "I guess, we eat today, and we see what happens later, hm?" Everyone nodded and groaned in agreement, eager to move on from the topic but Cartman didn't seem finished.

"… If what Bebe suggested and what Stan says is true..." Cartman droned on.

"Oh God, what now, Cartman?" Kyle whined, suspicious about his intents now.

"... Then I know _exactly_ how to pit them against each other." Everyone simultaneously groaned when Cartman followed with a malicious laugh, curling his fingers while looking up and everything.

Then he choked on his chicken wings. Kyle and Kenny merely rolled their eyes before they began to whack at his back to help spit the bone out. They could only hope that they wouldn't need the Heimlich Maneuver this time.

* * *

How was that? It'll be updated soon, and I hope you guys will read and review! :)


	2. The Epic Fight

Okay, I felt the **first chapter **was too short, so I updated it! Please reread the first chapter for the added paragraphs (which is a lot).

… Okay, have you read the new paragraphs? Okay, awesome, continue on! And don't forget to read and review! … Especially the nice people who fav-ed this. C'mon, reviews will make my world go round~

Oh, and by the way, I L-O-V-E cliffhangers, but sadly, I'm too lazy to break my typed chapters up into parts (that's why they're so long, usually I would organize them up much shorter) so whenever there's a line break, pause, make an appalling face, all before continuing on. It's only three seconds of gasping dramatically! XD Thanks and read on~

* * *

Tweek, Craig, and Token sat at the lunch tables, sluggishly force feeding the cafeteria food to themselves. Tweek was visibly roused up, still a little concerned on just how much Cartman knew. "Ngh! Cartman won't leave me alone, he keeps lying about crap you never said."

Craig seemed eager to put down his fork and talk. _I swear I just saw my pudding wink at me._ "Well, that's just how the guy is. He'll be over it in a week. We give it time and things will back to normal."

"Huh. E-easy for you to say. I don't know how much more I can take because I already punched him in the jaw."

Token laughed. "That fat-ass spews bullshit, both out of his ass and his mouth, _not _that you can really tell the difference."

Craig chuckled at that before looking over to Tweek with a certain glint in his eye. "Hm. It isn't like you to punch him. What did he say?"

Tweek noticeably blushed before chugging his milk in a hurry and coughing. _Lie to him, lie to him! _"Gah! Er, well, he called my mom a trannie-hooker." _That should work._

Token whistled. "That's pretty harsh, but I think you'll manage. He calls me a bunch of racist crap." He chuckles. "You did the right thing by punching him cuz' it always gives you a nice feeling of relief to see his fat ass get beaten up." He laughed. "He's practically a fatter, less evil but still evil version of Hitler. Racist and just plain wrong."

Tweek felt a little more laid-back. It was times like these he really felt like he was part of Craig's gang. They always had his back.

"You got that right. But it's not just him; his whole gang is pretty weird. Who the hell goes into a situation knowing something's going to go terribly wrong?" Craig griped.

"You pragmatic son of a bitch!" Token teased, laughing a little. "You really hate them, huh?"

Craig shook his head to the side. "I don't hate them, just Cartman. But then again, who doesn't? His own gang seems to find his company as pleasant as sticking swords down their eyelids." Token winced at the graphic imagery but nodded none the less. "And anyway, they never really seemed normal to me."

Tweek smiled. "Heh. You're not exactly _normal _either." Craig gave him a small stare and Tweek nearly jumped off his seat. _Damn, did he take it as an insult? _"Gah! Wait, wait, I didn't mean it, I mean, sorry!" Craig shook his head.

"Hm… I guess not. But you know me best. What works for me, I do it. If it doesn't, I don't. Simple code." He answered. "Nice and boring."

_It feels kind of nice to hear that I know him best. I never thought of it that way… … I never noticed how much I liked his voice either… Little bit nasally, devoid of human emotion, monotone and dull, yet… Expressive. _Tweek smiled to himself. He had never really analyzed Craig before, and when he did, he thought he summed up his voice perfectly. Tweek's smile was mere indents at the corners of his mouth, nearly imperceptible yet there none the less. Nobody noticed when Tweek was genuinely smiling, but Craig caught it, and he absentmindedly smiled himself. "Hey… What if something 'exciting' did happen to you? Something not _nice and boring_?" Tweek's question was on the tip of his tongue for quite a while now, and this time, it had slipped out. _Oh well, at least I'll hear his reply._

Craig's eyes expressed a little bit of curiosity. "Something _not _nice and boring? Well, I guess I'd merely accept fate as it is." Tweek merely nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, dudes, let's not start talking about fate and stuff. Don't want to get philosophical right now, especially not in the cafeteria." Token put up his two palms as he said so. Tweek grinned as he scratched the back of his neck; he hadn't realized how serious a talk he was striking up with Craig in public. "Hey, Craig, Cartman's walking over here." Craig shook his head reproachfully as Cartman forced a bogus smile his way. Craig nodded to an equally annoyed looking Token and Tweek before getting up to meet him.

"Hey, Craig! I just wanted to tell you that the fight's going to be happening after school. Everyone's already looking forward to it. And I just…"

"… Cartman, we're not fighting for your entertainment." Craig cut off.

"Oh, you guys are. You know why?" Cartman growled. Craig merely flipped him off, before Cartman beckoned him over to lend him an ear. "You will after I tell you this, just hear me out."

"… I swear. If you're going to be an immature dick about it and do some wet willy prank, I will –"

"Craig, don't tempt me. Give me your fucking ear." Craig moved over against his will, although he went against lending him an ear.

"Just whisper it. As long as you don't speak in your usual volume, people won't hear."

"Okay, okay, fair enough… _Fag._"

"…"

"Oh, sorry, that was the offensive term. Forgive me. I mean gay butt-fucker. You _love _it up the ass."

Being used to Cartman's unending reign of insults, Craig fights back unfazed. "The hell are you on? Crack? Marijuana? … Horse tranquilizers?"

"… Ey! That was _one _time! ONE! But don't distract me, dude." Cartman cleared his throat before breaking into song, "You and Tweek were sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G~" He started to wave his chubby fingers around as he rose in volume. Craig merely gaped at him, a bit taken aback.

"… What? How?" Craig merely stood a bit dazed, his indifferent facial expression not matching his startled voice. _But it was in the morning… How could he see? How could anyone see?_

Cartman merely laughed. _Ha, I knew it. It was like 'that' between the two of them. _"Now I've got you all wrapped around my finger~ Fight Tweek, c'mon, all I want is my twenty bucks. All I want is the pleasure of beating Kyle in the bet, okay?"

"… I don't understand. You're threatening me for twenty bucks and some satisfaction?" Craig felt slightly alarmed, but kept his composure.

"Yeah. It's pretty easy, really. You guys fight." Cartman shrugged.

"… Eh. Alright." _As long as he doesn't ever bring this up again, it's cool. _

"BUT! Don't tell Tweek about it."

"Wait, why not?"

"So he can be angry at you. So you guys can genuinely fight. I don't want to see some orchestrated shit where it ends in a tie or something. I want to have the satisfaction of winning _fairly._" Cartman nodded.

Craig couldn't help but feel a bit touched. "That's rather noble of you." But in the end, he got a bit skeptical, "… Really?"

"NO... But I would love to see an actual fight with guts and gore between you two!" He sniggered maniacally, rubbing his palms together for heightened drama.

"… Figures," he grumbles. "How will you know it's real; how will you know I kept my word?"

"Oh, I'll know. So all you got to do is do this favor for me, and BA-BAM! I forget everything about _that._" Cartman was good at playing along; he had Craig where he wanted him.

"… How can I trust you? I know your type, Cartman. Manipulative and vain. You could bring this up _whenever _for _whatever _reason."

"Cross my heart and I swear on my mother's grave."

"She's not dead yet."

"She'll die sooner or later, and then I'll swear."

"Not good enough. Swear on your Xbox 360."

"… Err…" Cartman gave a nervous laugh. "Anything else? I mean…"

"… What do you think my answer will be?"

"… I'm supposed to be the one threatening you, you know! Fine, I swear on…" He fidgets. "My… Xbox 360, okay?"

"… Alright. But what happens when a new next-gen console comes out?"

"Argh! What else do you need me to swear on?" He screamed, getting visibly frustrated at the stoic raven.

"Swear on Clyde Frog." _I know that ugly stuffed doll is your most prized possession._

"Oh shit! … Damn you! You tricked me! Agh… Uhm… Well… Fine!" There's a millennium long pause before he continues with a defeated sigh. "I swear! I swear on Clyde Frog!" He grumbled, stumbling over his words during.

"… Wow. You must really want to see the fight." Craig was a bit stunned. He thought Cartman would never risk Clyde Frog in an oath. _Man, what's so wonderful about kids duking it out after school?_

"Alright. I know you'll keep your word so we're good, man. You're a noble sissy like that." And with that exultant sneer, Cartman was off to exclaim the good news to his friends who waited inquisitively at their table. None of them probably expected him to be successful at persuading the ice king. Craig was staring on inattentively before remembering one important detail.

Craig had to fight Tweek, and he realized that he had promised that much. But – he couldn't tell Tweek any details. He had to rile up a genuine fight with his friend. He had to taunt nice, old Tweek. _Craig_ had to play the role of the cunning instigator. _Ugh. Imagine all the coffee I'll have to buy him to forgive me… _Tweek wasn't one to hold grudges and he was pretty laid back when it came to threats, never throwing punches until legitimately furious. Craig had to _really _piss him off. He gave himself a small smack on the face before dejectedly sighing while sauntering back to his table. Tweek and Token peered up at him pryingly.

"_So_… What happened?" Token asked first. "You look like you've gained fifty extra years on your shoulders."

"_Nothing_ happened." Craig spoke softly, feeling a little heavy on the shoulders.

"Ngh! Really?" Tweek asked skeptically.

"Yeah…" Craig said, looking at him apologetically as he did so. _Sorry, man, I'm going to have to really piss you off… Wait. How do I piss him off? _Craig was as talented in starting fights as he was in making papier-mâché unicorns. _Okay, okay, I just have to rip on him. Easy enough. _"Uh… Tweek?"

Tweek jerked up from his semi-sleeping state. "Gah, jesus, what? Ah, sorry. Yeah, man?" he gave him his attention, his eyes looking a bit drowsy and his face looking bored. _I need coffee._

"Uh… Uhm." _Crap. This is embarrassing. I can't rip on Tweek! _"Uh…" While Craig started to think, Tweek's head suddenly slammed down, face-planting on the cold lunch table; Craig and Token flinched, nearly vaulting out from their spot.

"Ouch. You okay, man?" Token asked confused and a little bit concerned; his pudding was spilled over.

Tweek waited for a while in his current position before abruptly getting up while rubbing his head. "H-hang on, I'm going to get some coffee. I'm seriously one step away from falling asleep – Gah! – next class." He yawned before a stunned Craig jadedly walked over to Cartman's table once more.

"Hang on. I'll be right back, Token." Craig grumbled, giving a loose wave of the hand.

"Uh… Okay?" Token looked bewildered like a deer caught in headlights. "Man… I need Tylenol… And a new set of friends…" He chuckled before resting his head over the arm that was perched up on its elbow.

"Ah, fuck! Coffee!" Tweek yelled off from a distance.

"Soon." Token added, looking off worriedly at his friends: hyperactive Tweek and apathetic Craig.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO START A FIGHT?" Cartman screamed, little bits of saliva spitting out as he did so. It also didn't help that they were at the library right now. Students shushed them from all directions before Craig flipped all of them off.

"Shut up, man, you're being loud. I just… Don't know what to say. What pisses him off?"

Cartman wrenched out a book from a nearby shelf before twirling it in his hand. "Okay. You are really coaxing me into hitting you, and just starting a fight myself. But who wins there, eh? Who wins there?"

"Just tell me what to say. And I'll…" Another dejected sigh. "I'll attempt to say it."

Cartman rubs his chin ponderingly. "Hm…" He snaps. "I know! Trolls!"

"… _What_?"

"You know how Tweek's paranoid about trolls?"

"… Dude. They're _gnomes_."

"Whatever! Make fun of underwear stealing gnomes! He socked me in the jaw today for that!"

"But… Isn't that too harsh? I mean, it's his genuine fear."

"_No_. Do it. Or I tell everyone."

Craig sighs. "I don't even know why I'm doing this. I couldn't care less."

"C'mon, you self-serving asshole, could you really bear to live out the rest of your years in South Park as a gay butt-fucker?"

"…" Craig sighed once more. "When did I fuck Tweek? Do you even _know_ what you're saying?"

"No, not even a little." Craig grimaced as he turned to walk away. "But – You already admitted to some stuff, man, _you _gave me hints! And oho! I'll be making sure I make yours and Tweek's life a living hell if you don't do this for me!"

"…" _I don't give a damn. … But does Tweek? I mean… We're not even that close, right? We're - _

"I know you're as self-centered and self-loving as me, we're pretty alike."

Craig hissed: "We are _nothing _alike, Cartman." _Damn it, how could I have thought like… Like HIM?_

Cartman gave a smile as he continued: "But could you really live with yourself knowing you ruined Tweek's life? That you gave him the reputation as a gay butt-fucker? That you'll be the reason when he moves out-of-state to escape his sexual preferences?"

Craig seemed speechless.

"That's the spirit, dickhead! Go and make me proud!" Cartman shoves him forward while Craig makes a horror struck face at what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Craig walks over to Tweek once more. He's standing jittery over the coffee counter in the cafeteria, putting in ridiculous amounts of sugar into his caramel macchiato. _Where'd he even get that? _"Hey Tweek."

"W-what's up, Craig? Damn, this stuff is too bitter…" Tweek grumbles.

"Yeah, sure it is." He mutters in disbelief, but Tweek doesn't catch it. _Thank God for this monotonous voice. _"Uh… Dude." _Don't stumble over your words. Just repeat after Cartman and get ready for the blow. _"I think… Your fear of gnomes… Is really _dumb_." Cartman probably slapped himself in the face somewhere far away.

"Uh, that's random." Craig winces at the composed voice. "Is there something up?"

"…No." Craig replies slowly. _Huh. Maybe I'll hit harder. _"I hope gnomes steal your underwear tonight."

Tweek gives him a long and puzzled stare. "... Gah! You okay?"

"… I'm fine. Uh…"

"- Are you trying to piss me off or something?" Tweek raises an eyebrow while sipping down his drink; he was getting a bit annoyed, his eyes looking a little more shifty than usual.

"I hope pyromaniac gnomes burn down your house and ass-rape you in your sleep." Craig muttered under his breath. That line was provided by Cartman, and said fatty was probably sighing in relief this very moment. Tweek's vein popped.

His eyes quickly went a little wild and immediately caught the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Everyone looked expectantly as if Cartman had told them firsthand. "Jesus, dude! You never_ ever_ fucking joke about those gnomes…" His eyes shifted over frantically from left to right. "They're everywhere! Ngh! That's like a threat, Craig!" To Tweek, nearly everything made him paranoid, among those were: gnomes, racist gnomes, underwear thieving gnomes, pyromaniac gnomes, and Christmas carolers. _Yes, _Christmas carolers. Because _nobody _should be that fucking happy while they waste their Christmas away singing to cranky strangers.

He shoved a strong finger in Craig's chest while holding his caramel macchiato in the safe hand. He was probably one insult away from beating Craig up on spot and Craig advised himself against using more of Cartman's lines.

_Ow. I forgot how strong Tweek was. God, it's no wonder why everyone hates Cartman; his lines are fucking gold. _Craig merely remained silent before Cartman yelled from the back: "You bet your ass it is, huh, Craig?" Craig grumbled then looked down at his feet. _I just wanted a nice evening of Red Racer. One nice evening, nice and boring, just the way I like it. I could've been so happy… Until I got myself into this. Might as well… _"Uh. Yeah, fight's on." He muttered unsurely. People began to cheer and clap as if a concert was starting in the auditorium.

"I don't want to fight you…" Tweek whispered, Craig barely catching it in the frenzy. He was clenching then unclenching his tight fist. The knuckles were going stark white. Craig's eyes widened as he felt a string tug at his heart.

"I… Well… I do." Tweek looked up at him in incredulity and gave him a hostile scowl before walking off. Craig flipped him a halfhearted finger for show. Everyone in the cafeteria hooted wildly, stumbling out of their seats.

* * *

Tweek went into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. He felt angry and betrayed. _None of this adds up. Why would Craig -? _Tweek's question was interrupted as he heard the door clacking open. Stan and Kyle approached him from behind.

"Awesome, Cartman told me we can continue the bet now," Kyle spoke up with a smile, waving lightly at a dumbfound Tweek.

_The... The bet?_

* * *

Cartman immediately ran up. "My man, Craig, my man! Kyle and Stan are handling Tweek now. I already announced to everyone that the fight'll be on after school! Hahaha! Hello, fifty hundred dollars!"

"You upped the bet?" Craig groaned.

"Yep! Of course I did!" Momentary pause. "So make sure you win, alright? I'm not going out five hundred K!"

"…" _Five hundred K is five hundred thousand, dumb-ass…_

"Yeah! I know you're as happy as I am, you fucking A!" Cartman gave Craig a strong slap on the back before announcing to the audience.

Craig looked dead. Well, more dead than he usually did. "I insulted my friend, made a fat bastard happy, and now my back's stinging from being slapped. … Yeah, I'm _fucking_ A."

_My next classes will be hell._

* * *

During class, Craig caught Tweek grumbling in his seat, still a bit stunned in skepticism. He threw a tiny, snot-sized note over to Craig's desk. Craig opened the crumbled piece before sighing in relief. _I knew Tweek would catch on! _

The note read: _Dude, you hate fighting as much as I do. The fuck happened? Besides, Red Racer's on today, you would never risk a fight for Red Racer. _It was scribbled out in Tweek's messy handwriting.

Craig replied back: _Tweek, shut up. I have to keep up this façade, alright? We gotta' fight. _Tweek mentally noted how hard it was to read Craig's small letters.

Tweek paused after reading note but replied back with a short sentence that made Craig go near cross-eyed. He read it again: _... I trust you. _

Craig couldn't resist telling him the truth then. He felt absolutely guilty and moved by his friend's words. He wrote out the entire thing in the next note, ending in one dire note: _Cartman's threatening to tell the whole school about the kiss. The one on Saturday morning. He saw._

Tweek's face went pale before he made a loud: "Gah! Too much fucking pressure!" The teacher peered at him over her eyeglasses threateningly.

"What did you say, young man?"

"Ngh! I s-said: Too much flossing dentures?"

She clicks her tongue in disapproval. "Bad grammar, too _many _are flossing _their_ dentures," she corrected.

He merely nodded in response as Craig suppressed a laugh.

She looked skeptical but the class proceeded on with the lesson. "Make sure to keep good grammar all the time, young man, lest your mind will stay rotten like others."

* * *

Everyone began to gather at the front of the school. All the kids were gossiping, raising bets, and looking forward to the Craig vs. Tweek rematch. "Man, Cartman must have a silver tongue or something; I never thought he'd ever convince two friends to fight!" Bebe gossiped.

"I know! The fat-ass is probably smarter than I thought!" Wendy said in shock.

"Ladies, ladies! The two guys are here!" Cartman cheered; everyone looking over to the "stage." Tweek was shaking in one corner while a tired looking Craig had his hands in his pockets in the other.

"D-damn it! Gah! I don't want to fight!" Tweek, now being fully aware of the threat from Cartman, was very frustrated and jumpy. His cowardice had returned, being no longer angry at Craig, he had fully lost the desire to fight.

"Oh yes, you do, Tweekers! Do you not feel the hatred on you, oozing out of Craig?"

"H-he doesn't look like wants to fight me!" He yelled. Craig gave him a small stare that read: "Keep up the act, Tweek, c'mon!" Tweek added: "Err. I mean, ngh! Yeah, I totally want to… Err, pulverize him?" Cartman looked at him bizarrely.

"Okay?" Cartman grumbled, cocking his head to the side.

Craig could only hope that Cartman didn't notice the change in Tweek's attitude. But, to be honest, he couldn't keep up the charade himself. He _really_ didn't want to fight, not when Red Racer was on. "… I just want to watch Red Racer…"

Cartman, however, didn't notice, immediately shaking the skepticism off. He was too caught up in his bliss. _Five hundred knockers. Hell yes. _"Okay, c'mon, guys, let's fight! The crowd is ready!"

Tweek, in his paranoid frenzy, socked Craig in the jaw, Craig being entirely unprepared for the sudden first hit. He plopped down violently into the none-too-soft snow. The crowd roared. "Gah! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Tweek muttered apologetically. Catching the hesitation in Cartman's face as Tweek said so, Craig instantaneously massaged his jaw before getting up and kicking Tweek square in the chest. They started to punch, scratch, and kick whenever they could, everyone hooting for one of the two to win. Tweek was heavily bruised in the face while Craig clutched his aching ribs.

"O-ow…" Craig moaned. His head was going slightly hazy in the pain, and Tweek looked pretty much a blur. Tweek felt even dizzier, not being used to exchanging blows. The two started stumbling and scattering around as they prepared more blows. Craig and Tweek hit at the same moment, their blows bruising each other's cheeks. Tweek spit out some blood while Craig clutched down his jaw, swallowing the blood that came from the open wound. "Fuck, this hurts."

"You got that right…" Tweek spit out. He had a small trail of blood sliding down his lips. Scratches covered his face, and Craig realized that both of them looked pitiful… And for what reason?

_I don't think this is worth shit. Damn that Cartman… _Craig fought back the urge to call this all off; he was doing this for Tweek. _Cartman will definitely break the promise if he loses five hundred dollars. ... I'm going to have to actually win? _Thinking over the bitter truth, Craig seemed hurt. Tweek lied on the grass for a while before getting back up and fighting Craig. Painful jabs throbbed at his flesh and Craig ignored them to lay one straight at Tweek's side. Tweek elbowed him back and the two were at it again, taking the anger they felt on Cartman, Kyle, and Stan's stupid bet and bolting that anger out on each other. After what seemed like a long-ass decade, Tweek and Craig were now barely standing, supported only by each other as they leaned heavily. They were at their end, panting and heaving at the dull pain that covered them head to toe. The crowd was restless, chanting their names to continue.

Tweek knew this wasn't the appropriate time, but he began to catch some of Craig's scent as they bumped foreheads. His sweat and blood couldn't hide the fact that Craig smelled nice. _He even uses minty shampoo. … Is it Head & Shoulders?_

Likewise, Craig was also numb and admiring Tweek's features. _He has nice lips. Cute… _Craig started to conjure up some past episodes of Red Racer in his head at his dead state. He snapped back from the hallucination before staring back at Tweek's heaving face. _Tweek is so fucking… Cute. _The obscure thoughts were getting the better of the usually cognizant Craig. Being hit in the head too many times to think properly, Craig leaned forward and gave Tweek a small peck on the lips. Tweek, first unresponsive, didn't notice, but jumped at the sudden contact. Nobody seemed to catch it as they cheered on. Tweek shifted his face up, wide-eyed, before Craig pulled him into a deep kiss with the strength he had left.

"Wha – What the fuck is Craig doing?" Cartman yelled. Everyone in the crowd took in a big breath, astounded by the sight before them.

Tweek's lips responded against the touch, kissing passionately, leaning heavily into the personal touch, before his legs gave out and he plopped into the snow in a dire state of bemusement. He looked back at Craig with questioning eyes before the other looked around to the silent crowd. Craig regained his consciousness as he stared wide-eyed at all the stunned faces. Nobody spoke a word. Tweek stood dead still as did everyone else. Everyone looked on expectantly at the two and the fighters truly understood what it felt like to be divided into the show and the spectators.

It was as if everyone had stepped unto a noiseless dimension.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

And then, a certain monotone, dull, and slightly nasally voice spoke up: "I win."

* * *

Please don't forget to review! Next chapter will be up soon!


	3. Clueless Couple

Okay, thank you for reading this far! Here's the third chapter!

Read and review! Oh, and thank you for the reviews and the favorites! X)

* * *

The number of bandages that covered the boys was atrociously high. They looked as if they've been run over by a stampede of elephants, and their gloomy faces matched that feeling. Their clothes stuck to their bare skin from all their sweat and they smelled like two heaping piles of crap. The two have a slight limp to their walk. Craig counts the number of cracks on the sidewalk as he peers down at his steps. His blue backpack is carried over his right shoulder as Tweek has on a slumping shoulder-bag, cramped with textbooks and crumpled papers, all hanging loosely at his hip, swaying with each step. He walks beside him with another coffee in hand. The only sounds that can be heard in the empty streets are their footsteps and Tweek's heavy sipping. Tweek peers down at his drink and then at Craig. He shoves his drink in front of him, nearly spilling it at his chest.

"Gah! Y-you want some coffee?" Tweek yells, still a little bit jerky.

"… Sure." He takes out a hand slowly before Tweek jerks a little.

"Ngh! Reflex." He answers, tone a little exhausted. "The fight took a lot out of me…" He gently places the cup on Craig's palm, waiting until Craig reaches for it again. _Damn, I feel like I'm going to be doing these jerks more often now…_

Craig takes the cup, hesitates on whether to sip from the same side as Tweek, twirls the cup around, and then drinks. He gives the cup back. Tweek himself also hesitates on whether to sip from the side Craig drank from, decides to twirl the cup around, and then chugs it, before crushing the empty cup and throwing it into the gutters. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve as more gauche silence ensues. Craig speaks up:"Tweek, I didn't mean for everyone to see like that."

Tweek takes a moment to answer, lips stinging from chugging the burning coffee. "Ngh! I just thought... I mean, I don't _care_ if anyone saw. Gah! Although, I'm not exactly happy…" Tweek exclaims. _Imagine how they'll react afterward…_ He catches the remorseful look on Craig's face as he nods slowly. Tweek suppressed the yearn to pat him on the back. _Man, I never say the right thing… _Tweek gives a small snort. "But hey… We had a n-nice adrenaline rush going, uh, right?" Tweek gave a small, childish laugh to ease up the mood.

Craig's tight shoulders loosened a little. He closed his droopy eyes before opening them abruptly turning and facing Tweek. "Wait, you don't care? The _only _reason I listened to Cartman and fought with you was so our friendship wouldn't be damaged. So word wouldn't get out and you wouldn't freak out and go out-of-state." Tweek looks at him a little confused.

_Out-of-state? _He twitches before exclaiming: "Oh Christ! I don't give a damn about what people say about me, man! They all think I'm fucking b-bat-shit crazy! I mean… I won't like it, but shit! Not out-of-state just for _this._"

Craig's eyes slightly narrow. "Neither do I. I couldn't care less what people do to me." He scoffs. _Cartman manipulated me. That fucking bastard manipulated me so… Easily. _"I can't believe I won a fight for Cartman. He's probably laughing about his five hundred bucks right now. And all for what? I still… _Kissed_ you in public."

"Ngh, yeah, I gotta' admit… I'm not going to be looking forward to tomorrow." Tweek groaned.

Craig stares at him for a long time. "I think we'll be okay. We're… In this together." Craig replied, giving a small, appreciative bump on Tweek's arm.

"Yeah, I guess so… Gah! I think these bruises will all stay for a while…" Tweek exclaimed, clutching his bleeding jaw. He's lost in thought for a while before he asks: "Why did you do it?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you… Do _that_?" He points toward his lips, tapping lightly at his bruised, purpling skin. The lips were split down the middle and it hurt Tweek to move them. "I mean, we're not exactly that close… Uh, not that we're not close though! Gah! Just that we're not _that _close!" Craig's eyes lit up as he grumbled to himself.

_It's true… We're not that close, but I – _Craig talks before he's able to finish his thought. "_That_?" Craig ponders. "I don't know…"

There's a slight pause before Tweek continues. "We're still friends, right? Ngh! Even if w-we did that?"

"Of course we are." He answers with no hesitation. "… But I have to admit, I'm really confused now." Craig grumbled, tone brooding.

"M-me too." Tweek stumbles. "I always thought it was couples who did this kissing mush. Gah! We're a weird set of friends then..." He crosses his arms as he starts to lightly shiver.

"Tweek, I think we were always really weird." Craig answers straightforwardly.

Tweek lightly chuckles. "… We were, huh? Ngh! … H-how did we become friends anyway?" Tweek asked; he had been wondering this since Saturday. _I wonder if he remembers._

"… I don't know." Craig answered honestly. _How did we? I hung out with Clyde the most… Then Token befriended Clyde, and then we hung out like the Three Musketeers… Then how did Tweek join?_

Tweek continued on: "Gah! We're not exactly _compatible _buddies… I'm not _nice and boring_, you know?" _Hell, I'm pretty much the opposite…_

"Yeah, _you're_ not." He answered a bit grumpily, earning a hurt expression from Tweek. "But I accept you the way you are. I… _Like_ you crazy and paranoid." Craig muffled his voice with his scarf on the last sentence. He continued on hesitantly. "It's what makes you _interesting. _You're _fun _to hang out with." Tweek couldn't help but note how awkward Craig sounded handing out compliments. It just wasn't in his aloof personality to use such friendly vocabulary.

"Gah! Really?" Tweek jumped. He could have sworn it was getting harder to breathe.

Creek's cheeks went a little hot and he could no longer distinguish whether it was from the bleeding jaw or their talk. "I… Hey. What does this make us now?" Craig asks, tone serious and dark. Both of them stop walking, standing still to face each other.

"Err… I don't know. What do you – Ngh! – mean?"

"I liked kissing you." He stated bluntly, avoiding Tweek's face to stare at the ground. It was brutally honest, uninvitingly spoken, unromantic, and it made Tweek's heart flutter all the same.

"… I liked kissing – ngh – too." Tweek muttered timidly. Craig and Tweek slowly take it all in, standing at the street corner like erected statues.

"Uhm… Thanks…" _Oh fuck, that's not how you respond to something like that, right? _He inwardly slaps himself. Craig takes a small pause to think, balancing his chin on his palm. "… Well, I don't really know what comes next." He admits.

"… Ngh! Me neither." Tweek grumbles. Craig merely nods as they both go off into their thoughts. "But… W-we're still friends, r-right?"

"Stop asking that… Of course we are. I don't know, do we just go on as before?"

"… I don't know." **WRITER'S NOTE: If I had a nickle for every time they said "I don't know"... XD**

Tweek and Craig didn't have much experience in relationships such as these. Well, they did, but they didn't gain anything from their experience. Craig dated a couple girls, mostly out of boredom and reluctance to answer negatively to a girl's confession. They all ended horribly with the girl dumping Craig for being heartless, indifferent, and brutally straight-forward. His most recent girlfriend, a pretty blonde, had finally confessed after five years of secret yearning. She was head over heels in love with Craig, although her preset image of him was helplessly shattered as she learned just how his real personality was. "Well, don't you look handsome, Craig?" she had said on their first date, accompanied by her friends who wished to meet him. "Thanks. Your fly's down." He muttered as he called for the waiter. She shook her public humiliation off. On their second date, she would ask him what his interests were. "Eh, I don't know… Stuff." She pried for a more open answer. "I _said _I don't know. What do you want me to say?" He would ask truthfully, and she would take the monotonous question as an exasperated snap. On their third and final date, she attempted to give him a gift for their anniversary. He was touched by the gift and he would reply: "Thank you. But I didn't get you anything though." She would say: "Oh, it's fine." After a moment of silence, he would murmur straight-forwardly: "We haven't even known each other that long. People do one-week anniversaries? It just seems kind of pointless." That would end in an offended slap as she walked away in a huff. Days later, she would call and demand that he give the gift back.

Craig would be called handsome by many. Tall, dark, and mysterious, they would say as they fawned over him, but he was definitely no knight in shining armor. More like the town crier. He gave you the sad truth whether you wanted to hear it or not. Tweek, on the other hand, was like a doomsayer. He would stand in street corners, yelling out conspiracy theories, dire predictions of the end of the world. He was crazy but you wanted to at least hear what he had to say. Mixed in with a bit of a village psychopath. Heavily antisocial that it was absolutely ridiculous. He was nice, but was he charming and sociable? If you considered flipping over a table at a high-class restaurant to attack a non-existent gnome with a fork, all while screaming obscenities that even S-class delinquents would frown upon, yeah, he was suave and he really knew what to say to tickle you fancy. His paranoid antics turned off most women at the first minute of meeting, ending with an immediate dump or a flip of the finger for the horrid date. Still, there were some rare girls who continued to meet with him, supposedly entranced by his 'individuality.' Those also ended horribly, as Tweek would confess he wasn't interested in keeping the dates up, and all girls would end up yelling out of the room as they called him a "freak" or "just fucking messed up," and the next day, they would fabricate stories of how he couldn't get _it_ up. Tweek, not being one to concern about his social life, shook it off as he continued on as before. However, seen as kind of lonely, Tweek would be constantly set up into blind dates by classmates, despite his frequent protests. Sadly enough, there were also some strange women around South Park that found his twitching _sexy. _Tweek could easily admit that he was traumatized by such women. Despite the fact that no men _or _women could ever attract the attention of the two, they felt a certain pull toward each other, and now that their feelings for each other were put out in the open, they pondered on what to do.

… In conclusion, they just really had absolutely no fucking clue on what these feelings were and on what to do with them.

Tweek continued to nibble on his lips, breaking the already torn skin. He rolls his tongue back and forth in his mouth as his gaze starts to travel to the hand resting at Craig's side. The boy stares flatly as he continues to organize his conflicting thoughts. Tweek tries to break his stare away before it turns back to the hand. _I… Should I just ask him? _After an hour long moment of pondering, Tweek shoots out his hand, palm out. "Here! Take it!" Craig jolts a little before facing the twitchy blonde.

_I always forget to get ready for those sudden outbursts… _"W-what?" Craig looked confused. Tweek bit his lip before removing his glove and putting the palm out once more.

"T-take my hand!" Tweek exclaimed, embarrassed to repeat it so openly. "I… Wanted to hold hands! I don't know! Just take it!"

Tweek shuts his eyes tight as his shoulders scrunch up. Craig starts to speak. "Uh, this is… Random at best." _Although, I'll admit that this isn't him at his most random… _Craig stares at it for a second, as if he was a scientist analyzing a test sample through a microscope. Each second of staring for Craig felt like a painful hour for Tweek. After a long minute, Craig removed his own glove and stored it in his side pocket before taking his warm hand and finally clasping it around Tweek's cold one. "Gah!" Tweek exclaimed as Craig's toasty fingers wrapped around the back of Tweek's bare hand. Tweek's jittery hands were rough and icy while Craig's callous ones were surprisingly warm and soft. They gently rocked their arms back and forth like a pendulum as their hands remained firmly grasped around each other.

Craig's cheeks went a rosy pink as he silently blushed. "Like this?" Tweek could only nod as he tried to hold in his gulp. Then he felt Craig's fingers let go of his palm as they tried to budge themselves in between Tweek's.

"Gah! What are you doing?" He panicked as he clenched his fingers tightly together.

"I'm trying to link hands with you. The fingers tie together like this." Craig showed a demonstration where he interlocked the fingers on his two hands. "I heard about it in a TV show."

"N-no way, man! There's a superstition that says we'll die early if we do that!" Tweek fought back Craig's hand as the speed gradually rose on their swinging arms.

"What? It's the opposite. We live _longer_ if we link fingers." Craig asserted. Tweek shook his head 'No.' Craig shook his head back. "Dude, trust me." Craig tried to budge his fingers into the hollow space between Tweek's fingers but they were clenched together tight as his fingers dug securely into the back of Craig's palm. Craig and Tweek locked eyes as they gave each other a nasty glare. They continued to do a lamer version of thumb wrestling, "Palm wrestling," as they walked on. They ended up swinging each other's arms violently, their hands locked rigid, as they made their way home.

* * *

Craig and Tweek arrive at the latter's house. Tweek immediately walked over to the cabinets in the kitchen while Craig closed the door from behind and locked its bolts. _These are an insane amount of locks on the door. He must be more freaked out about gnomes than I thought. _

"Err, do you want some coffee?" Tweek muttered from an unknown location.

"I just drank some on the way here with you. And we also stopped by Harbucks like you wanted." Craig muttered. His tongue probably bled coffee now.

"Ngh! Do you want any more?" Tweek was obviously tense and edgy about the talk before. He didn't know how to handle Craig's company now. Craig calmly went on as before. _We're still friends. We're still friends. We're still just friends. _He calmly chanted it over in his head like a sacred incantation.

"I'm pretty sure I gave you enough hints on my answer, Tweek." Craig answered. He peered over to the couches and to the dinner table. _I haven't been over his house for a while. I don't recognize any of his furniture. _"I'm going to turn on the TV, you mind?"

"Naw, go a-ahead." Tweek felt a bit nervous about having him over after such an _event_. Tweek heard Craig sit himself down as he surfed through the channels. Craig sat back comfortably as he looked over the TV guide. Then, he heard loud dishes clatter over in the kitchen.

"Uh, do you need any help?" He asked as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Gah! Uh, no! I'm – Fuck! I'm bleeding! I'm fine! I'm fine!" he yelled. Craig immediately stood up and ran over to the kitchen, seeing the broken china on the ground. "Ah, fuck, my wrist gave out. I just dropped some of the good China."

_You probably socked me too many times with your Boxer hands. _Craig looked on wearily before bringing a small broom and dustpan. "Let me help."

"It's _fine. _Ah, fuck!" The coffee Tweek held in his wrist gave out and poured over the crouching Craig who swept in the broken shards. The mug also shattered on the ground. Tweek just made a giant "Oh" face as an annoyed Craig stayed still. "Oh, God, are you o-okay?"

"… My hands are bleeding from picking up the shards, my body's aching from our fight earlier on, and now, my skin is probably going to chip off in pieces from the hot coffee. I feel _resilient_." He muttered sarcastically before shaking some of the hot liquid off his arms and continuing to brush in the shards. "You're so annoying and clumsy." He spit out. Tweek gave an apologetic look before picking up some of the shards to throw away.

"Crap, I'm sorry, Craig, I'll bring over a towel!" He yelled before retreating to the guest bathroom for the towel rack. He inelegantly threw it over Craig's head as he rubbed it frantically around. Craig's hat slid off from the friction before falling toward the drenched tiles. Craig stayed politely still as the rough towel rubbed harshly over his face and scalp.

_Ow, ow, ow, ow. _"Alright, I picked up most the shards." Craig's voice came slightly muffled in the towel.

"Gah! I'll mop it dry!" Tweek yelled before using the same towel he used on Craig's head to dry up the floor.

Craig chuckled before he walked over to the sink to wash himself off. "You're kind of cute sometimes."

"Huh?" Tweek couldn't hear him in the rushing water.

"I said… Can I use the shower?" Craig asked, his voice a little louder.

_The shower? … Oh God, I just imagined him naked, didn't I? Oh God, oh God, oh God. _"Gah! Sure, upstairs, f-first door to your left." It felt more awkward than usual having him over. For Tweek, there was a more intimate air on hanging out with Craig now. Tweek waited awkwardly in front of the TV, sipping his coffee. Ten minutes later, Craig came down dressed in his white short-sleeved undershirt and Tweek's sweatpants. Tweek couldn't hold in a "Gah!"

"My shirt was dry, but I had to borrow some pants. Sorry." He mumbled as he rinsed his black hair dry. Tweek stood up as he walked toward him.

"Ngh, what about your wet clothes? I can put them in the hamper for you." Tweek couldn't help but stare at the bruises he saw on Craig's open arms. They started to turn an ugly purplish hue. _Did I do that? Damn. _

Craig spoke, snapping Tweek's attention back to his face. "Oh, I'm staying over for the night?" He asked. "I just put them in a plastic bag."

"Y-yeah. I thought we could watch a movie you want or something… Video shop's close by, we could rent. Gah! I'll put them in the hamper!" He rushed upstairs as Craig heard the laundry machine running. When he came down, the two of them sat down tiredly on the couch.

"I'd like that, I'll stay."

"… What movie then?" Tweek felt kind of happy.

"I don't know, we'll see. Don't you hate my horror movies, though?"

Tweek laughed a little. "Well, yeah, but you hate my pointless, t-testosterone-filled action movies."

"… I would like them if the main character had more diverse speaking parts other than: 'Shove it!' or 'Fucking police!' … It's as if the dude lives off on adrenaline, booze, and steroids." Craig replied calmly. He continues with a sigh."But I'm for it, if you want to watch it."

"I like your horror movies…" Tweek lied. "Ngh! W-we can watch them."

Craig cocked his head to the side doubtfully; his wet head leaned into the leather couch. "Don't lie, you get scared shitless and you end up hiding behind me."

"N-no, man, I like them…" He lied through his teeth once more. Craig gave a small smile.

"Alright. Then we can watch an action flick afterward." He stood up. "… Sorry, but do you know where the First Aid Kit is? My right hand is hurting a little." He mumbled monotonously.

"What? From the broken glass? L-let me see." Tweek asked. Craig shrugged and pulled up his palm into view. It was gathering large pools of blood in its small cracks as hot, red liquid started to slither down to his elbow. Craig's expression remained unmoved as before as his breathing remained steady and his eyes remained flat and dull. "F-fuck! Gah! Dude, you're bleeding!"

"Yeah, it's started to sting a bit. It stung even more when I used the shampoo upstairs." He answered impassively. He trailed a tongue over the wounds in his hand, licking up the metallic flavor; it was kind of seductive the way the wet appendage lapped over the scarlet. Tweek gulped before wrenching his arm away. Craig winces. _Ow._

"Stinging? That's all you have to say when your hands are practically fucking gored? Gah! It's dripping!" Tweek remained momentary shocked before he ran over to the bathroom and took out bandages hurriedly. Tweek went back downstairs only to see the same blank-faced Craig standing calmly in the middle of the living room. _Wait, what is he doing with his hands? _"Gah!" Craig was cradling the gathering blood in his two hands as he waited. One could say the atmosphere around Craig was almost tranquil right now, the only distracting point the bloody palms. After his hand was bandaged up, they readied for the video store. Craig's magnificent, pale and soft piano hand was now a hideous white and red mess of inexperienced bandaging skills. His right hand looked like a white stump at the end of his wrist. Tweek, however, was satisfied. Craig merely made an uncomfortable face at the overflowing amount of ointment that was poured unto his palm before the wrapping.

* * *

Craig put on a light jacket with a furry hood as Tweek went out with his current clothes in a hurry. They took in the fresh, cold air as they walked alongside each other to the store. Midway through there, they attempted to hold hands once more before it turned into an awkward effort of attempting to hold on to a slippery, bandaged log. They switched sides, so that Tweek could comfortably hold Craig's left hand. However, that peace didn't last, as it turned into another session of "Palm Wrestling." Tweek and Craig started to shuffle through the collections of DVDs in the shelves. The Video Store was almost always empty this time around, South Park being a relatively small area with limited population. After choosing two DVDs, they made their way back, entering Tweek's room for a small TV in the corner.

"There's something kind of surreal about this day, huh? Everywhere seems so empty now…" Craig asked, slipping off the borrowed hoodie into Tweek's closet. The twitchy blonde made his way to the bed.

"Yeah." Tweek answered, taking off his scarf, his gloves, and his sweaty, bloody shirt that clung to his skin. Peering down at his wounds, he gave a small scowl. Craig crawled up unto the bed, using his left hand to lightly trace the scars that covered Tweek's thin torso. Tweek made a small shiver at the touch, before Craig stopped. He looked into Tweek's eyes before giving another small peck on the lips. "Ngh!" Tweek's lips quivered against his before they locked into a more comfortable kiss. They opened their lips in a small gasp, before sliding their tongues in, wrapping the fleshy appendages around each other's. Tweek put his arms around Craig, one hand clutching his waist while the other held his neck. Craig, having only one available hand, moved his left hand over to Tweek's chin, holding it between his thumb and his index finger. They slowly bobbed their heads side to side, taking in as much of the hot kiss. Craig pushed Tweek gently back; the latter's head bumping on the wall behind them. They softly moaned into it before both of them broke for air. A small thin line of saliva connected them before they turned back to the TV shyly. Both their hearts were beating rapidly while they tried to hold in their quickening breaths. _My cheeks feel really hot… _"Gah! Uh… Was that another one of your w-weird urges, Craig?"

_Sure? Let's just go with that. _"Yeah… Sorry."

Tweek cleared his throat as he picked up a DVD. He read off the title awkwardly as he scratched his forehead. "Uh… S-so _Shaun of the Dead _first?"

* * *

The morning fog covered the area. After watching the two DVDs, the two had fallen asleep on the floor… Again.

Waking up in early dawn, Tweek stretched uncomfortably as he prodded the sleeping Craig. He rubbed at his eyes before he grumbled: "D-dude, homework… We have to –" he paused to yawn. "Do homework…" _Ah, his clothes… _He staggered over to the dryer. _Hn, Mom must have put them in when she came back… _He grabbed the clothes out from the dryer before placing them over his bed. Yawning once more, he prodded Craig a couple times.

"Nn…" Craig moaned, stirring lightly in his sleep. Tweek started to roll him like a barrel. He settled comfortably on his back, scratching idly at his exposed stomach. Tweek could see faint outlines of muscle in his slim abdomen. He started to blush and his lips began to tremble before he leaned down and trailed down a faint line with his tongue, eliciting a quiet moan from Craig. He circled his tongue around the navel before kissing it lightly. Craig immediately stirred awake and sat up at the view, staring vacantly. "… Oh. Don't mind me."

Tweek stuttered nervously before getting up and making his way down the stairs. "I'm g-going to get some coffee…" Craig gave a small chuckle before staring up at the clothes placed on the bed. He began to undress before Tweek's mom walked into the room.

"Sweetheart, I found some unidentified clothes in the laundry machine, did you have someone over?" She peered down at Craig with his exposed midriff. She had caught him as he was slipping off his shirt. "Oh. Uh… Hello, Craig… …I'll tell Tweek to make you some coffee too." Craig stood still, and upon her departure, he continued to dress.

"Well, that was awkward." Whilst slipping on his clothing, he traced back the parts Tweek licked on his abdomen. _Did Tweek have one of those 'urges' too?_

* * *

Tweek and Craig made their way over to the bus stop. Token stood there idly as he yawned. He looked over to the two before giving an awkward wave of the hand. Between some guy friends, whenever something awkward happened, they pretended it never happened. Token was one of those guys.

"Didn't our history teacher give us _way_ too much homework?"

"Y-yeah. We ended up doing it in the morning." Tweek muttered. Token winced at the phrase: _doing it._

"U-uh, yeah. Me too." Token replied nervously. They didn't say anything else until the bus arrived.

Onboard, Tweek and Craig sat across from Wendy and Bebe. Stan and Kyle sat behind them, while Cartman sat in front of them. Kenny was off sitting somewhere else beside Butters.

Bebe immediately asked: "So~ Are you and Tweek dating now? I mean after yesterday…"

"I always knew you guys were a couple~" Wendy sneered before Craig gave her a baffled stare. Wendy perked up, confused herself. "Wait… Craig, are –"

Cartman cut her off: "Did you guys take turns doing the nasty when you got home?" He sounded bitter. Seeing as how Stan and Kyle laughed happily, he had probably not gotten his money. Kyle overheard, and immediately yelled back.

"Oh, shut the hell up, Cartman! You're just pissed off because we didn't give you the money!"

"I won fair and square, Jew-fart! Five hundred Ks, man!"

"First of all, a kiss does not count as a legitimate attack! Second of all, Ks are thousands. And lastly, when do you ever do anything _fair and square_?" Kyle stood up in his seat with his fists pumping as Stan tried to pull him back down.

Cartman ignored him as he continued to taunt Craig. "So, did you guys hit a home run? Go all the way yet?"

Craig and Tweek looked at him with a mixture of both anger and confusion. Craig spoke up: "The fuck are you spewing now, fat-ass?"

"… Do you really not know? … God, do I really have to _spell _it out for you? S-E-X, you dumb-ass."

"The fuck? Ngh! W-we're just friends." Tweek answered back.

The bus went silent as Cartman yelled. "ARE YOU SHITTING ME? DO YOU GUYS REALLY-"

* * *

Sorry for the abrupt ending~ XD

Hope you liked it and please review~ Next chapter will be up soon.

Oh, if you're confused about what just happened, let me explain...

Basically, Craig and Tweek are confused about their feelings for each other and they're mistaking it as strong friendship, since they've never really _been _in an actual, serious relationship. So they're going on as before, agitating everyone around them for their ignorance. Yay! Okay, okay, I've made them kind of stupid. But c'mon, a sexy, aloof Craig only cares about Stripes and Red Racer, what makes you think he'll know anything about love? Oh, and don't even get me started on the cute, paranoid maniac…


	4. Interrogation

Chapter Four is up~ X3 Thank you for the favorites and reviews. Sadly, this chapter is mostly filler, but nevertheless, a nice tidbit to the plot.

Don't forget to read and review, because I love comments and critiques alike! Just no flames… Not that I don't appreciate anyone using up their valuable time insulting people. -_-;

* * *

Wendy sat alongside her friend, Bebe, as they waited for their first period class doors to open. They utilized their textbooks as seat cushions. Wendy had long dark hair with intelligent brown eyes. She was wearing a lavender colored sweater that hung loosely on her skinny frame. Her pink hat hid her eyebrows as she continued to giggle. Many could remember that she used to uphold a high sense of nobility and honor at childhood, passionate in her studies, but said cleverness and gusto had noticeably diminished throughout the years. Nowadays, her intellect remains just as brilliant; however, she's more inclined to brainlessness over cute clothing and boys. Her "best friend forever," Bebe, has always been a certain way, from childhood to adolescence. She was a bit airheaded, although many would claim she was sharper than she let on. However, one thing was certain; Bebe was manipulative, self-centered, and sometimes just downright bitchy. Although she often played the villain amongst the girls, she wasn't as heartless as she led on. Contrasting Wendy, Bebe wore provocative clothing. She had on a tight red shirt that clung to her curvy body as well as black shorts that barely covered anything. Her blonde hair was dyed frequently to shine a prettier gold color, but in consequence, left it dead and frizzy.

Wendy spoke up: "Alright, so it's settled, my partner in crime! You take on Tweek, while I take on the steely Craig!"

"Agh, no fair, you have a boyfriend, you know!"

Wendy clapped her hands together in a huff. "Geez, it's not like _that_! Besides, what could you possibly say to him?"

"… Maybe sway my hips and look coy?" She grinned lewdly.

"You're so slutty!" Wendy giggled. "Haha, but not even _your _God-given hips will help you out on him…"

"Ugh, I know, I know. Geez, to know that the cutest single guy is taken… By… _Tweek._" She hissed bitterly.

Wendy stuck out her tongue. "Yes, yes, like _you're_ lacking in boyfriends…"

Bebe slapped Wendy's thigh playfully. "Ha, shut up! I'm just saying, okay? Besides, all I want right now is to hook the two up~ I mean, they're so _different_ from each other that it's undeniably cute…"

"Yep, so what's our battle strategy?"

"Err… I don't know… I mean, what do I say? 'Go ahead and make out already, fuck-tards'?"

"… Genius." Wendy rolled her eyes as she let out a huff.

Bebe clenched her teeth and huffed back. "Fine! As if you're much better, what will you say?"

"Uh… I don't know. He always has that 'I'm going to kill you if you come in fifty yards of me' vibe, so honestly… I'm scared shitless."

"… Well, maybe I should explain to the dumb blonde about love. I mean, people are saying that Craig and Tweek still think they're friends."

"Err, friends with _benefits_?" Wendy murmured unsurely.

"No, and that's what doesn't make sense! Are they really just that thick about romance? _That _completely oblivious? I mean, it's the twenty first century!"

Wendy sighed and put a guaranteeing palm to her shoulder. "Bebe… I… I think they are."

"Oh, God." The two slumped into the walls, suddenly feeling as if they were being weighed down by tons. "Let's hope this goes well, Wendy…"

* * *

_Clyde's coming back today. _Craig notes. It was Friday morning and the first period was on its way to ending.

The entire week Tweek and Craig had to endure thousands of people on the school campus hooting and whistling after their kissing fiasco at the fight. Craig casually flipped them off while Tweek had one of his nervous breakdowns during class. Token merely avoided them in embarrassment after the first couple rallies. He didn't really appreciate it whenever too much attention, positive or negative, was given to him or his friends.

Wendy called after Craig during his way out of first period; she waves slightly, hoping to attract his attention. With an arrogant cock of the head, he overlooks her, continuing towards his next class. _Not Wendy Testaburger again… _Frustrated, she chucks an eraser at his head, hitting him square on the back of the head, making his ears ring a little. He picks up the eraser from the floor, wrings it in annoyance before waiting for her at the lockers, leaned up lazily, reluctance plastered all over his face.

She skips over with a cute giggle before locking her arm with his. "Howdy, howdy, Craig~"

"You're dating Stan." He states grumpily before trying to shake her arm off.

Wendy is at a complete loss for a moment before shaking her head. "No, this…" She jiggles his arm in affirmation. "… Is so _you _have to listen to everything I have to say." She corrects.

Craig glares over at the girl, only seeing a pink knit cap. _She's kind of short… _"So this is a sort of precaution… So the fly won't escape from the spider's web?" She makes an put out grimace as he starts to muse over the comparison. _The spider spins intricate and alluring patterns, waiting expectantly. Once a victim is caught and entangled in the sticky webbing, it wraps it around in its deadly silk, the thread flowing out its spinneret. Weaving out a certain doom for its meal, it gives it a slow and painful death as it suffers of suffocation from being cocooned alive. An abrupt end would be one most fitting to the struggling meal, but said spider is not so merciful. As the elegant spider digs its venomous fangs into the cocoon, it sucks the blood out, mirroring its humanoid cousin, the graceful vampire. It leaves behind the rest of the corpse for later as it continues to expand on its home – _

Wendy snaps him out of his thoughts. Craig always had a tendency to get carried away. "Ha. I hardly think that _you _would be considered a _fly._" _Since we're talking bugs, a praying mantis would fit his personality more. _She gives a small, cocksure chuckle before she tightens her hold. Craig winces.

"Then what the hell do you want? Your possessive pussy of a boyfriend isn't going to like seeing you hanging on the arm of another guy." He snaps. He didn't like it when girls he didn't even know that well got _too_ friendly.

_Whoa. He almost sounded angry! … Well, if it wasn't for that voice. _"I'm _not_ flirting!" Her eyes perked up as she spoke up indignantly. "I would _never_ flirt with you –" She enunciated the words repeatedly before catching the annoyed stare from Craig as he looked on with even furthered disinterest. She glued together her lips as she looked straight up at Craig.

_Crap, did I insult him? _Wendy put up her hands in defense as Craig raised a questioning eyebrow. "I mean, not that I wouldn't flirt with you! Because you're really cute!" Her face turns a shade of pink at the realization of what she had admitted. She slaps herself in the face as she groans in frustration. He crosses his arms. "No! No! No!" She stamps her feet before continuing to speak, this time her tone lighthearted. "Damn, you're _good_ at making girls flustered!" When he doesn't respond (being slightly disturbed), she uneasily laughs before wagging a finger at his face. _Oh geez, I must look like a total spaz! _"_Bad_ Craig! Is that your way of treating a young lady?"

_All I see is a mountain gorilla… _"Then go on, I don't want to be late." She frowns before loosening her hold and lightly pulling him toward the lockers.

Wendy flusters before shaking back into her easygoing personality. "I shall tell you this beforehand, Mr. Tucker, but we will be having an entirely professional chat about thy love life."

"My… My love life?" _Is she talking about who I think she's talking about?_

"Yes, sire, thy relationship with squire Tweek? It is most suspicious, no?" Craig blushes lightly, but Wendy's perceptive eyes catch it like a trained hawk. _He looks kind of anxious. Hm, I've never seen that side of him. … I don't think anyone has. _

"Well… Not that it's _any_ of your business… But I have nothing to hide. What would you like to know?" His face relaxes as well as his shoulders. The tardy bell rings, yet it falls on deaf ears. Craig was more nervous than he currently let on.

"What made you want to kiss him? _I mean… _You guys are _only _friends, right?" She teases, loving the momentary control she has over the usually stoic Craig.

"Well… I… I don't know. I guess it just got a bit weird after all the blows to my head." He's more flustered, Wendy catching the tinge of pink on his cheeks. He glides a smooth tongue over his pale lips.

_Hm… So when he's genuinely nervous, he licks his lips… Cute. _"… Is that all? Are you sure it wasn't because you like him?"

"Of course I like him." He licks his lips once more, the tongue gliding over casually whenever he stops speaking. "He's my friend." He smacks his lips a little before clearing his throat.

_And again, he licks his lips. Three times! This has got to be a record. _Wendy drew back in shock at the first statement before realizing it was another instance of Craig's naivety. "No. I mean, like _like _him." She moves her fingers in a circular motion, emphasizing on her meaning.

"… I thought it was quite evident that we see each other only as _friends._" He's less flustered, the tongue habit gone now.

_Ah, he's getting angry again. _"Friends don't _kiss_ each other like that."

"No… They do not." He strained out, more subdued in his tone than usual. He crosses his arms.

"And? You sure did in plain sight… C'mon, I'm a friend, I just want to know…"

"… Be it a friend or an enemy, this has _nothing_ to do with you." His emotion diminishes by a little mid-sentence.

Wendy dug deeper. "… Well, yes. But I want to know why you are so keen on hiding this." Craig growls lowly before flipping Wendy off. Wendy's eyes widened, and her cocksure attitude faded as she became exasperated. She could no longer track any scent of emotion in his voice or face. That moment was gone. "You sure do, Craig. Why else would you blushing as soon as I mentioned Tweek?" He started to hiss something under his breath. She leaned in, eager to hear his reply. "Oh. What was that?" She crooned.

His eyes narrow. "… That's enough. I'm not some mindless bitch to be toyed around with."

"W-what?"

His voice is indifferent, but the words stab the same. "Curiosity kills the cat, you know? Don't go poking your head in into other people's business."

"Craig, I was just –" But Craig wasn't having it, he shakes his head twice and holds up an open palm, signaling to 'shut the fuck up' in a nicer, less wordier adaptation. Wendy's fingers are curled tightly into a fist. _C'mon, just give me an answer, you prick!_

Seeing Wendy silently fuming, he places the hand back into his pocket. Craig stares at her with fiery eyes before its shine dims. "Look…" Her head bolts up. "… I have to get to class." Her head flops back down. "We're already tardy. See you, Miss Honor Roll, sorry to have stained your perfect attendance record." He sticks out an unenthusiastic tongue, twirls on his heel, before flipping her off once more. He disappears from the corner, his feet still sounding as it makes long and heavy steps. "C-Craig! Damn you, like you _ever _gave a flying fuck about class!"_ … Damn prick probably flipped me off again right now. _Cursing herself, she stares down at her shoes before she starts to dash after him, her heel scraping violently on the tiles. _Damn it! I really hope Bebe's more successful with Tweek!_

* * *

Bebe wasn't able to catch up with Tweek before second period, so it was a mere coincidence when she saw him stepping out of the guys' bathroom in the hall. He had gotten into another rampage in his classes. Lately, due to his more frequent panic attacks, Tweek's parents had supplied him with a heavy supply of pills. However, those pills were prone to constant hallucinations of gnomes. And Tweek could swear that seconds before, the teacher resembled a certain gnome. Anyways, the end result was Tweek being asked to go to the bathroom to take a little breather.

Bebe waves before walking over to him. "Tweekers!"

"G-gah!" He screamed, lunging at all directions, his eyes going shifty as he scavenged his surroundings.

_Whoa. Paranoid much? _"Ur, hey, wanted to talk to you."

His eyes widen. "Bebe? Uh… What about?"

"Oh, you _know _what this is about… I've taken quite an interest in your love life, you know." She sneered, approaching him seductively and twiddling his collar with her polished nails.

_Is – Is she hitting on me? _"Oh, Jesus!" His arms reach out awkwardly settling on her shoulders. He lightly pushes her away before screaming: "N-no thanks! I just –" He started to shuffle towards class in a hasty fashion as Bebe stood slightly stunned from the loud voice.

"Wait! Tweek, I'll buy you coffee! I just wanted to talk!" She called after him urgently.

Despite wanting to desperately leave moments before, Tweek's ears perked up at the sound of any _free _offer of coffee. "Coffee?"

Bebe smirked to herself. _Oh, this will be much easier than I thought. _"So are you dating anyone in particular?"

"Err… No." _Please don't hit on me, please don't hit on me, please don't hit on me._

Bebe beckons him over, and the two walk over to the coffee machine. "I'm going to say this outright. I'm _not_ hitting on you."

_Oh, thank GOD! _"Thank you… I – I've already got my hands full with all the creepy hook-ups – ngh – other people force me into." Tweek bluntly stated, his joyous relief in full view.

Bebe couldn't help but look a bit slighted. _God, don't be THAT happy I'm not hitting on you._ "Hm… And why is that? None of those _girls _interest you?" She made it so that she was being as blunt as possible.

Tweek caught it. "Gah, the fuck does that mean?"

Bebe caught the irritation in his tone, but pressed on. "Do _girls _not appeal to you? Does a certain – _golden-eyed raven _– appeal to you?" _I can't possibly get more specific than this._

"…"

He didn't respond, regardless she continued. "Well… Well?" They approached the coffee machine and she slipped in a dollar for one toasty cup. As he readied a protest, she put a milk coffee to his mouth. His mouth immediately watered.

"Eh, eh, what did you say?"

_Much too easy. _"I understand you two are very good _friends_." She put up little quotations with her fingers.

"Ngh! We're not as close as many may think, but yeah, c-close enough to enjoy each other's company."

_Ooh, what kind of company?_

He sipped the coffee longingly. "Man, I haven't had a_ classic_ coffee with milk for a while, only those with those crappy creamers…" He sipped hungrily once more. Bebe could only hope that the cup will last for a few more questions, otherwise, her wallet would be going empty in a matter of seconds.

"Sooo… I've seen you two holding hands, what is the story _behind_ that?"

He grew stiff and a small sweat drop formed at his forehead. "W-well, uh…" He sips. "I wanted to hold his hand one day…" He blushes. "B-but I don't know… Friends do _that_… Right?"

_Err, not guy friends… At least, none that I know of… Except maybe Kyle and Stan. Hm. _"… How did Craig reply?" Bebe's inner fan girl was squealing in elation from the inside. _Maybe he tightly grips the palm and pulls Tweek over to him, kissing him fiercely on the lips, an unlikely romance being born anew – _

But unlike her little vision, the truth was far more plausible. He rubs at his arm nervously with the free hand, shrugging his shoulder lightly. "Well, uh, he said it was really random…" He sips the remaining hot liquid, before chugging it down abruptly as Bebe opens her mouth to speak.

"Oh." Bebe's inner fan girl fell to her knees in disappointment. "Well, that sounds like Craig…"

He winces slightly at _his_ name, but his voice remains calmer than usual. "… Yeah… Uh… So is that it, Bebe?" He murmured, crushing the now empty cup. He approached the trash can.

As his hand hovered over the opening of the bin, she boldly asked: "Did you feel anything when you kissed him?"

He jerks a little, the empty cup dropping to the side. "Heh, I, uh… Missed." As he awkwardly bended over to pick it up, he could only curse himself knowing that Bebe's interest had peaked. _I swear she's staring at me right now… And I'm pretty sure it's not 'cuz of the ass._

"…" _Oh. So it is like… 'That.' _His hand began to tremble before he placed into the bin. _This is just getting good. _She ordered another coffee from the machine and immediately pressed the coffee to his lips once more. "C'mon, another one on _me_, Tweek."

"… Of course… Th-Thanks." _Damn it. Woman knows I can't refuse coffee. _He starts to chug it, intent on finishing it quickly and bidding her goodbye.

"Of course, of course! So… You did feel something… Why don't you… _Describe_ that to me? Did it give a little _tingle _down there?"

He almost spit out his coffee. _Now she's reminding of some wizened, old shrink. … A perverted one. … With no shame. … At all. _He sighs. _Now I just need an IKEA brand sofa-bed to lean on for the therapy session. _"Err… Bebe, you're… _Nice_, and all… But… Uh… Isn't this kind of personal? I mean… There's no r-real reason to tell you this kind of embarrassing stuff."

_Embarrassing? I want to know! _"Oho, Tweek doesn't trust me!" She made a fake hurt expression, twirling around and pretending to be sad. _Let's just hope this works…_

"Ah, sorry! Ngh, I mean, I guess there's no harm…"

_Wow. He fell for that? _"Trust me, I'm a _friend_." He makes a face of disbelief. "… And an expert on these things." He raises an eyebrow questioningly, but he had an idea of what she meant. There were only a few things Bebe was an 'expert' on.

"_These_ things?"

"Love and lust, kid." She pats him on the shoulder. "… And I might be able to clarify these confused feelings you've been having."

"R-really? You'll help?" Tweek trusted people easily. Just not gnomes. … Or people who look like gnomes.

She takes out a palm and he hesitantly shakes it. "I won't tell. Cross my heart."

_She can't be that bad, right? I mean, I'll tell her, and she'll leave me alone, right? _"Well, uh… Y-yeah, you're right. Gah, I did have weird feelings…"

She jumped on her chance. "How many times did you kiss?"

He was caught a little off guard. "Oh, uh, ngh…" He bites down on his lip. "Three times…"

"Who started it? When were the times you kissed?"

"Uh… Well…" He felt a bit pressured from the bombardment at all sides. "Craig did… H-he doesn't really know why… … We k-kissed the first time outside in the morning…" He paused.

"Well?" She was getting impatient and he was getting jittery.

"Ah, h-hold on, this is…" He sighs. _Am I just being a push-over again? _"Well, second time… Was at the fight…" He scratches the back of his head. "Third was at my house… Ur… Y-yeah."

"Hm… Sorry I interrupted, so… What were the feelings?"

"Oh, uh. I don't know… Agh… I felt f-fuzzy. It was… Warm?" He was lost on how to interpret the feeling.

"… Hm, you mean, Craig's lips?" _Ooh, I wonder if he's a good kisser._

"… Well, th-that too... C-can we stop? Ngh! … I kind of want to think this over..."

"Oh, you never thought about it?" _It should be common sense for people to think about things like that after it happens… But I guess Craig and Tweek aren't that common._

"N-not really… Gah! It's just so weird!" He bit down on his bottom lip, reopening the sealed wounds. "… I d-don't know! I mean, I thought since I'm always a bit s-strange… That…"

"…"

"That… Well, I thought… M-maybe this is just a – ngh – weird urge?"

"You think you just did that absent-mindedly? … To a _friend_? To _someone _you consider _only _a_ friend_?"

"Gah! F-friend? I? … Is he? I – He – Well." Tweek was currently experiencing a major brain fart. He clutched his hair roots almost violently as he shut his eyes tight.

He didn't see Bebe's sneer. And he sure as hell didn't hear her murmur: "All according to plan."

Bebe _really_ was a manipulative bitch.

* * *

The second period bell rang and Bebe made her way to Wendy. Wendy sat slumping, her sandwich mimicking her mood as its bread drooped and its tomatoes sagged into the bottom.

"How'd you go?" A groggy Wendy asked.

"… Perfect. I _really _gave him something big to think about." Bebe whispered to herself. The blonde was practically beaming out of everywhere but her ass.

Wendy didn't hear. "… Geez, I _suck_."

"Aw, it didn't work out with Craig?" Bebe sat down next to her, patting her back.

She glared up and spit out viciously: "Craig's a _prick_." Her head drooped back down.

"But said prick now has a paranoid cutie thinking after him…"

Wendy looked up; face first surprised, but immediately smiling. "Oh? I wonder how he'll act around him now…" Her face went soft and expressive as she pondered.

"Wendy?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel kind of guilty."

"Huh?"

"I feel like we really messed up fate. We butted in, you know?"

"What are you talking about? I succeeded at _nothing_, other than getting Craig mad, at least on the inside. But then again, he's probably mad at _everyone _on the inside. You, on the other hand, yeah, you butted in and actually changed something ~" Bebe and Wendy giggled on the seats. Their little game of matchmaking was going to pay off.

* * *

It was lunchtime and Tweek was still brooding from before. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he actually refused coffee when Craig offered it. He felt a bit troubled. "… You _never _refuse coffee. What's up?"

"… N-nothing. I'm just thinking." Tweek stared over to the other, his face was aligned with Craig, but his eyes not focused on anything in particular. "… Uh, hey, ngh, Craig?"

"What?"

"… Er… Never mind. Can I… Uhm." He bites his bottom lip once more, and Craig jerks up a little at the sight of blood trickling down the rim of the mouth.

He frowned. "Spit it out already." Craig hated it when a sentence went unfinished only to linger.

_I forgot how easily annoyed he can get…_"Gah! Hand." Craig looked at him confused before Tweek put his hand out, palm up, and Craig inwardly grimaced on how Tweek treated him as if he were a puppy sometimes.

Craig looked around for any bystanders, and when he found none, he clasped his hand over Tweek's with slight hesitation. He met his face towards Tweek and gave him a small stare, neither happy nor angry, neither at ease nor uncomfortable, and like always, Tweek immediately blushed, but stayed rigid as before. When Craig tried to push through his fingers on Tweek once more, he was surprised on how he didn't resist. The slim fingers slipped in easily through the cracks of the coarse ones. Tweek's hands felt colder than usual. Craig's eyes widened once more when he felt the palm shaking slightly, worried, he rubs his thumb over the back, only to have Tweek twitch at the fuzzy contact. _I… I think I just felt a rat scamper down my spine…_ _Did I say that right? … I'm feeling butterflies. _Tweek's eyes turned a little hazy as he started to grow a little warm from the contact; his body trembled, he felt dizzy, his cheeks felt hot, he couldn't breathe correctly, and he felt constant uncomfortable tingles on his skin.

The raven looked up at the other's face blankly, only to see a flustered, trembling Tweek. "… Uh. You okay?"

"Y-yeah." He avoided his gaze instantaneously and Craig furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're acting weird."

"Ngh, don't I a-always?"

"Well, weirder." Craig mumbles vacantly. Tweek catches the laughter in his eyes.

Anyone else would have taken slight insult to his forwardness, but Tweek appreciated the honesty. _I wonder if I'm the only one who looks past his subtleties. _"I'm fine. Gah! Just feeling a little… S-sick. Those pills my mom gave me? Yeah, they're fucking hallucinogens." He grumbles bitterly, and Craig looks on plaintively at his friend. His parents always bombarded him with medicine and coffee to calm him down, worsening him in the process.

"You saw gnomes again?" He asked curiously.

"Mm, bashed another – ngh – desk in. Teacher w-wasn't happy. Had to leave class to cool off." His left eye twitches a little and Craig puts a thumb above his eye and massages it lightly. Tweek's tense muscles relaxed a little under the touch.

"Alright." Craig sighed. He squeezed back at Tweek's palm and with the hand that he traced Tweek's eye with, he brushed back Tweek's bangs, looking at him with his dead yellow eyes almost longingly.

_Another weird moment of ours? … No. It's not… Right? _Tweek's eyes looked larger when he looked up at Craig. He managed to fidget out: "We're not _friends, _right?"

Not entirely understanding the question, Craig merely shook his head. "Of course we're friends." He mumbled, a bit offended at the misinterpreted statement.

_… Friends. _Tweek could only nod, a lamenting smile plastered on his face. "Y-yeah, what was I thinking?" He looks off at his eyes in nostalgia, and his twitchy browns connect with the other's soothing yellows. Craig grows a little stiff under the intense gaze and lets go of his hand. Tweek felt empty. Clenching his now empty hand into a fist, he mumbles incoherently. "W-will you give me a…" He slowly leans forward, bumping his forehead into Craig's lips. Ever since that day, the day of their second and third kiss, Craig stayed a bit distant from the blonde. They had truly continued only as friends, rarely holding hands as Tweek was often to shy to propose it and Craig didn't think too much about it. He engaged in talks with Tweek like always, although they often ended in awkward pauses whenever they were alone. Despite that, Craig was always willing to comply whenever Tweek asked and Tweek always forgiving whenever Craig hugged him abruptly in the middle of the street.

Craig smiled unsurely and gave him a peck on the forehead. Seeing Tweek smile a little afterward, he started to kiss him lightly and briefly, gently pausing and drawing back from each one. Soon, small pecks on the forehead moved to a small peck on the nose, before alternating between the left cheek and right cheek. He started to shower him lightly with tender caresses before Tweek aggressively pulled at his sweater and boldly planted one straight on the lips.

* * *

I love Bebe X) Made her kind of a bitch and kind of slutty, but I like those unlikable, likable characters!

Ha, Tweek is kind of getting it. XD In the next chapter, Clyde will show up~

Please read and review~

I'll make sure to continue as soon as possible.


	5. Frustrating Emotions

Chapter Five is up! Oh, thank you very much for those who reviewed. And thank you to those who added this story or me to their Favorites List. I have read every single review and I must admit, it gives me a warm feeling inside~

To **Essex Cole**: Oh, the coffee machines? Well, they're like a combination of vending machines and the water dispensers. Some lucky schools have them in the halls. It's usually fifty cents per cup, and once you insert the quarters, a small paper cup falls out of the opening and it dispenses hot water and coffee mix simultaneously. Hope that was what you were looking for~ And thank you for the reviews~

Ah, another thing you awesome readers should know is that I'm a horrible person. I'm a rabid perfectionist. So… Just saying… I might have rewritten previous chapters. New paragraphs might be in them or subtle changes in grammar, spelling, phrasing, or plot. It's never drastic so you won't have to worry much, but if you want, you can reread them to catch any missing details. For instance, some of the fluff scenes Craig and Tweek shared might be revised to make it more realistic, because sometimes I would feel I was overdramatizing the romance like a soap opera.

* * *

Craig draws back slowly from the fierce "kiss", the passionate one that Tweek had set off only minutes before. A thin line of saliva connects the two afterward. Tweek's face blushes a rosy hue whilst his mouth remains half open and heaving. At the corner of his mouth, small amounts of saliva gather. He nervously wipes at it with his sleeve while Craig stares resignedly.

However, it's not what it implies. Tweek's feat of bravery did not go without consequence. His abrupt kiss with Craig was actually a violent clashing of teeth and bruised lips at the misjudged impact. Craig cracks his neck in the silence whilst Tweek clears his throat.

After a long pause, Craig sighs. "What the _hell_ was that about?" He sounds slightly angry, but not enough to break composure. He traces his lips. _Whenever I hang out with this guy, I'm always getting hurt for some reason._

"Fuck. I d-don't know. Sorry." Tweek looks away with an embarrassed smile. He had to suppress a laugh on how stupid he felt at the moment. Tweek's eyes are half-lidded and his chest is heaving while he tugs slightly at the unresponsive Craig. He looked unfazed as always, and that yanked at Tweek's heartstrings. _Well… That kiss was an Epic Fail. _"Uh… I – uh… Jesus…" No comprehensible phrase is formed out of his stutters.

"…" Craig doesn't add anything, merely staring on absentmindedly. He raises his hands and rests them on Tweek's chest.

Tweek nearly bit down his tongue at the sudden contact. Craig's hands did not budge from their spot. The blonde was nearly bursting at his seams, waiting expectantly for the next move.

"I never noticed your buttons were crooked." He mutters airily. He slides a tongue over his lips, Tweek, however, was not the perceptive Wendy, and does not link emotion to the reflex.

"…" Tweek sits by quietly while Craig unfastens his dress shirt, careful not to brush past the other's sensitive skin. A bare midriff is exposed and Craig impulsively slides a pale hand over the skin, fondling it almost lovingly under the touch. Tweek holds in the shiver by clawing inconspicuously at his knuckles. "A-ah…" Craig, however, hears the whisper, and immediately takes back his hands.

He coughs into his fist. "Uh… Well, I'm pretty sure you can fix them yourself."

"Gah, of course!" Tweek smacks his lips, making a slimy, wet sound, and hurriedly buttons up his shirt, the line crooked once more. Craig doesn't bother to point it out again. The austere ambiance is dawned over them, and the two suffer an uncomfortable silence. _He seems so composed… Damn, I really have to calm down; he probably thinks I'm being strange today…_

"Hey, Tweek?"

Tweek opens his mouth to try and speak, but he ends up sputtering.

Craig stares on detachedly. He doesn't seem to really notice much.

"U-urr, yeah?" Tweek manages to croak out.

"I have to pick up my little sister from her school… I'll see you guys later at Clyde's." His nasal voice is again without emotion, and that made Tweek even more awkward.

_Maybe I should be happy that he's going on as before. _"Gah, C-Clyde's?"

"Yeah, since he's coming back this afternoon, he wants our usual game night to ensue." Craig nervously brushes his hair back, sweeping his dark bangs over the forehead. His face however cleverly hides disturbance and frustration, and he stares off emptily.

"A-ah… I'll see you then… Uh, Craig?"

Craig gives a bob of acknowledgement.

Tweek makes sure to face the other way when speaking. "What happened now... Just… Ngh, forget it, okay?"

"… Hm." Craig sounds neither angry nor willing to comply. "I don't know if I can when I look in the mirror and see these bruised lips."

Tweek shudders. "Gah! Uh…"

"… See you." Craig grumbles before getting to his feet and hugging Tweek briefly. He traces his fingertips affectionately over Tweek's back. Right when Tweek is about to lean into the embrace, Craig immediately lets go, shoving him lightly. "Have fun."

Tweek awkwardly picks up his belongings and hurries out of the lunchroom, attracting the girls' table on his way out. Wendy and Bebe were seated in said table. They stared expectantly over to a relaxed _looking _Craig. Stuffing one hand in his pockets, he tidies his hat, straightens it over his head, before flicking said girls off. He made his way out briefly after, sliding a tongue over his stinging lips. _Tweek…_

Tweek rushed into the bathroom before nearly face-planting over the sink. He splashes cold water over his face. _Things got tense fast… _After a near eternal gaze into his reflection, he mutters out a: "Fuck."

* * *

Fifth period was becoming almost too much to bear for Craig. He peers outside the window, counting the number of trees that grew in the grassy areas. The teacher continued to blab on about things he couldn't care less to hear about. She immediately caught on to Craig's inattentiveness and calls on him. "Well, well. Mr. Tucker! Why am I hardly surprised that you aren't listening in?"

He sighs and answers in mock-obedience/courtesy. "Because I never do, ma'am." He earns a couple of laughs in the classroom, but the teacher remains unimpressed.

"Now, now, Mr. Tucker, don't point out the obvious unless you wish to visit the dean once again? Or perhaps, the principal if you so prefer?" She puts her hands to her hips as she waits for his answer. The students stare at him expecting a snappy comeback. Now all the attention was drawn away from lesson and to Craig.

Craig rolls his eyes. "Oh, you're giving me a choice? That's so thoughtful of you. Why don't you choose for me?" He looks over to the teacher suggestively, earning some giggles from the girls of the classroom; his chin perched atop his hand.

The teacher plays along. "Oh-ho! You'd like me to choose for you, dear? Why don't you tell me who you'd prefer and I'll make sure to give you the exact opposite."

Usually Craig would try and avoid answering and sit quietly, but he really wanted to leave. Craig snapped angrily: "Now, now, don't be stupid. You're telling me to choose between the hell spawn and the idiot who doesn't even know which hole a woman craps out of." The crowd stays deathly silent.

After a long and uncomfortable pause, her face burns red as she divides up each individual word in the sentence. "That. Is. Highly. Inappropriate." She growls under her breath before pointing a finger to the hall. "Mr. Tucker –"

"Yes, Delilah, I'm going." Craig stands up almost routinely, pushing aside the chair calmly.

Once underneath the doorframe, she interjects: "Wait, you little sinner, you did that deliberately to skip the lesson, didn't you?" She stomps her way behind him before he lazily flicks her off. "Did you just give me the finger?" She yells.

With a heavy sigh, he answers. "No."

"You did – Just now – I saw it." He flips up the finger once more. "Oh! And there it is, again! You gave me the finger twice now!"

_Well, now… I'm not exactly offering up a peace sign, am I? _"No, I did not. You're delirious, Delilah."

"Stop calling me that!" The class gossips nervously as Craig departs from the room. Flustered, she snaps her baton multiple times over the board. The class immediately faces forward. "Well? Are you taking your notes?" The class returns back to their history and she seats herself down on her chair, slipping in some Tylenol into her mouth. "Oh, I swear… One of these days, that Tucker boy will get expelled. And I won't have to stock up regularly on Tylenol." She stares down tiredly at her pills before pinching the bridge of her nose under her pincer eyeglasses.

* * *

Craig seats himself down on the row of chairs outside the Dean's office. A boy and a girl sit in the front two spots of the line. Craig could recognize the boy as the exchange student from France who hung out regularly with Gregory and Kyle. He was a dark brunette with untidy hair and an overall disheveled appearance. He wore a black collared shirt, camouflage army pants with a matching set of boots, also tracking mud. He didn't seem too friendly, but then again, neither did Craig. He has a small white stick (a lollipop?) poking out from his mouth and he frequently scratches at his head with his dirt tracked fingernails. Craig could swear those weren't ketchup stains on his fingerless gloves and the shovel that he so lovingly held unto with his free hand. He catches Craig looking at him as he's about to hurl. "V'at are you staring at?" He grumbles in a thick accent, expertly balancing the lollipop between his lips.

Craig shrugs. "Nothing." _His breath smells like him. Like fresh dirt and grass. _

"Hm, I know you. Aren't you z'at… Uh… Ah. Z'at boy who fought in front of z'e school?" He looks up thoughtfully, staring at Craig with dead brown eyes. His eyes were practically obsidian black and looked like those that belonged to a dying fish.

"Craig Tucker." He offers. _He has bags under his eyes like Tweek… _

"Ah, z'at v'as z'e name; Craig. Bonjour, Monsieur Tucker." He tries out the name over his tongue, making it sound more like 'keg' with a rough r inserted into it. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, but v'y are you 'ere?"

"Fucked with a teacher and flipped her off. Oh, pardon my French… Hm, never mind." Craig could tell the boy next to him was a violent brawler who wasn't above murdering, but he looked on unfazed at his fumble.

"Mm, I am not offended. After all, I _am_ French…" He chuckles lightheartedly; however, his eyes stay dangerous and dark.

"Your name, French-y?" Craig asks.

"You can call me v'atever you v'ant. Christophe. Z'e Mole. … _French-y_?" He offers. "Preferably out of the first two z'ough."

"Mole, then. I've heard some people call you that before." Christophe bobs in approval. "Why are you here?"

"… Hm. I beat z'e sheet out of a boy z'uring class."

"The… The sheet?" Craig grumbles. _He means shit, right?_

Christophe scowls. "Yes. Z'e _sheet._ And Lola 'ere is a bad shot. She tried to stand up for z'e boy and ended up impaling anoz'er whilst trying to 'it me. _Lucky_ 'er, no?" He smiles and pops out the 'lollipop' from his mouth whilst Lola looked daggers at him.

_That's not a – Oh, a cigarette. _"You smoke?" Craig asks.

He brings up a lighter to the tip, lighting it blatantly in the empty halls. The girl beside him winces. "No, I _z'on't._" He answers sarcastically. "I z'ought I v'ould light some twigs on fire and make out v'it z'em." He chuckles dryly and Craig nods uncertainly at his humor. "Mm." He hums as he inhales in the unhealthy smoke, making the girl next to him cough disgustedly. Craig finally notices her and attempts to recall her name. The French boy saves him the trouble. "Ah, Lola, am I boz'ering you v'it z'e smoke?"

She rolls her eyes and looks over to glare at French-y but she immediately blushes when Craig raises an eyebrow toward her curiously. "Oh, uh, Craig…" She fidgets, twiddling her fingers over her lap. "I didn't know you were here."

Craig monotonously snaps. "What are you talking about? I'm _always _here."

"Huh, yeah…" She smiles and looks away, visibly happy that he replied to her. She's a pretty brunette, her long straight hair combed perfectly. Her headband brushes back everything but her side bangs, sculpting her mature and clever face, and her silky strands rest upon her wide shoulders. "You were always the silent and brooding angst-y type; it's too bad that the teachers don't appreciate that side of you." She compliments amorously, her eyebrows fluttering.

French-y scoffs at the blatant flirting. Craig, however remains oblivious.

_Huh, so she's those artsy, poetic types. _"Here I thought I was just being a bastard." Craig answered dispassionately. _Why do I feel so angry? I feel so fucking frustrated for some reason… _She flinches and immediately seats herself at the edge of the metal fold-out chair.

She giggles. "It's always the modest ones that get to me." She eyes him thoughtfully while he stares back flintily. However, that doesn't deter her. She seemed to be genuinely interested in him despite his cold demeanor. She looks at him with two affectionate eyes while Craig wrinkles his nose. "Well. I was just wondering… You are going to the party, right? To Heidi's house next Sunday?"

* * *

Every Friday night, Clyde or Craig would host video game nights over at their house. Despite the fact that Clyde was barely returning from the flight this afternoon, he didn't feel like breaking tradition.

The day sky is a bottomless, peaceful ocean of blue. The sun is half hidden behind clouds, its light peaking through shyly on the side. It exudes nothing but bliss and tranquility; however, Token and Tweek are feeling otherwise. The two walk awkwardly side to side. Token's head is buried between his shoulders and his hands are placed inside his pockets. Tweek, his left eye twitching a little, is biting away at his finger.

"… Uh… Tweek?" Token initiates conversation, his face contorted uncomfortably.

"Y-yeah, Token?"

"Urr… Well, there is – ha – no easy way to say this…" He forces another chuckle before stalling to the point. "Uh… You're a cool guy, and you know you'll always, uh, be cool with me, right?"

"… Yeah?" Tweek stares back, equally uncomfortable with their current atmosphere.

Token decides against dragging it any further and blurts out: "Are you two… Like… _That_?" Tweek jerks a little, but before he has time to respond, Token had already withdrawn the question. "Naw, naw, you guys aren't like _that_… I mean, Craig just fell on you weird at the fight, right?"

"…" _Does it make much sense that he would land directly on my lips and force his tongue in? _"H-ha, yeah, he tripped over a rock… Ngh, we were p-pretty tired." _Stop stuttering, you're looking suspicious!_

Token merely nods.

After the clacking of locks cease to sound on the other side, Clyde opens the door. "Why the fuck did you guys take so long? Snail's pace, man…" He groans. His cheeks look bruised and his face seems bright with relief from returning home.

"Haha, nice to see you again, man." Token smiles before giving Clyde a hug. "Was it hell meeting up with your Aunt Gertrude?"

"Ha, you bet it fucking was, look at these cheeks! She pinched them pretty hard every time she saw me." He shudders, before making his eyes over to Tweek. "Well, you're as twitchy as always, Tweek!" Clyde gives him a rough pat on the back. "Let's play something until Craig comes back."

"Uh-huh." Tweek merely gives a nervous nod before making his way into Clyde's house after Token. It was a nice enough house, each of the inner walls painted a bright yet dull white. They made their way up the carpeted stairs and Tweek couldn't help but giggle whenever he walked over the fuzzy floor covering with his bare feet. The thick heavy fabric would always brush between his toes.

Clyde walked over to his ps3 and powered it on. "I feel like some Street Fighter 6, you mind?"

"Nah, I'm cool with that, got to admit though, what's up with the 3D? Kind of kills the '2D' fighting."

Clyde frowns disapprovingly.

Token merely rolls his eyes as he raises his arms in defeat. "Fine, fine… But we got to play some good old fashioned shooters while all four of us are around."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, a quartet is just begging for split screen versus mode…" While Token and Clyde babbled on while setting up the controllers, Tweek couldn't help but feel like an outcast. He was the only one who didn't have a game console or any substantial amount of experience with video games. Craig had the classic Xbox, the 360 and specialized in first person shooters and third person platformers. Clyde had the Nintendo GameCube, the Play station 2 and 3, and specialized in Japanese-y things, Japanese-y things being something Sony and Nintendo excelled in. He loved RPGs and fighters. He could memorize combos simple as pie, but formulas tired him out. Token being the rich ass, had practically every game console known to man, except the Atari Jaguar and the Sega CD, because that crap just sucked (and would always suck; even more now since it's a newer generation). Token excelled in rhythm games like Guitar Hero, not being too aware on the battlefield for he was a sucker for backstabbing shots. In spite of his weaknesses, he loved co-op shooters.

Token passed him a controller. "C'mon, you're up first, I'm terrible at these button mashers." Tweek's fingers gawkily wrapped over the controller. He always found the thicker 360 ones more comfortable, or maybe that was just because he was used to playing games with Craig more.

"Fuck that, Street Fighter is an art, man. You only truly win when you learn the combos." Clyde sneered, his nose high up in the air as the title screen started up.

"You said that about Virtua Fighter and Tekken too, Clyde."

"Well, we're not playing that now, are we? I only fawn over the game while the disc is inside." He started to cycle through the character list, snickering. "Choose your fighter, Tweek." Clyde finally settles on Juri Han. "Hey… She's kind of cute."

"Of course, it's so like you to choose from your dick…" Token grumbles.

Clyde laughs before elbowing Token. "Huh, speaking of cute girls, have you guys decided who to take to the party?"

_Huh, what party? _Tweek ponders. He cycles around before accidentally picking Dhalsim. "Agh… Oh, whatever…"

Token whacks his forehead. "Oh, I forgot about that, I guess I can always ask Red. Man, I hope she's not taken." Token always had a thing for Red; to him, she was perfect in every way.

"Man, do you think I have a chance at Jessie Dunskin?" Clyde sneers. The match began to start up on screen, Dhalsim and Juri Han speaking out their battle cries. As soon as the characters showed in battle stance on TV, Clyde began to bombard Tweek with calculated combos whilst looking away and talking to Token.

"Ah, fucking multi-tasker!" Tweek yelled, trying to button mash his way through Clyde's defense.

"That blonde chick? Ha, no way!" Token cackles, almost maniacally, almost crying into Tweek's shoulder; Tweek snickers himself at the idea. Clyde had been turned down so many times by her that it was a broken record. Everyone knew Clyde Donovan always had a thing for blonde chicks, ever since the short lived relationship in where he dated Bebe.

"Fine, fine, crush my hopes and dreams… But guess what, man? Craig is going to LOVE me after this!" Clyde smirks, nudging Token leeringly. Tweek twitches at the mention of Craig's name. "You know Lola, right?"

"Yeah, the cute brunette you asked out, but turned you down in three seconds flat."

Clyde lowers his eyebrows, turning his round emerald eyes into near slits. He grumpily sticks out his bottom lip. "… Yeah, yeah, well, that beauty has a crush on Craig. I promised her Craig in exchange for a date with her friend, Heidi." He K'Os Dhalsim, leaving Tweek annoyed and huffy. "Heh, you got pwn'ed, Tweekers."

"Heidi? Damn… She's pretty popular and she's the one who set up the party too… She's more of a dusty blonde though…"

"Yeah, but pretty damn hot and killer parties." He looks up at the ceiling in bliss. While he does, Tweek takes the chance and begins to spam Juri Han with the same combo. His head snaps back down to Earth and he grimaces when he sees he lost a match. It was now an even amount of wins on both sides. "… Man, Lola's perfect for Craig, huh? He likes smart babes, right? She's pretty different from the bimbos Craig usually went out with."

"Man, he's going to kick your ass, Clyde. He hates set dates." Token grumbled.

"Dude, he has to be rooting for the other team to deny someone as hot as her." He snickered back.

Token flinched at the phrase _other team._

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Clyde winced. When Tweek and Token looks off awkwardly, he shrugs and continues to speak. "Oh-ho, and Tweek will love who I've set him up with."

"Gah! What?" Tweek groaned and paused the game, glaring over to a sneering Clyde. If Craig hated set dates, Tweek _loathed_ them.

Token shook his head disapprovingly. "Not cool, man. Remember the last chick you set Tweek up with? He almost got attacked by that creepy twitch fetishist on the first date." Token and Tweek shudder involuntarily.

Clyde places the tip of his finger on his lips. "Yeah, that _Martha _chick… But she was cute, huh? An eight, right?" His eyes narrow. "Wait… You were gentle with her, right? You know how violent you get when you see a gnome."

Tweek jitters nervously in his seat. "… Y-you're kidding. Gah! I was trying to pull her away when she tried to shove her tongue down my throat, man! H-how could I think of being polite then and there?" Token winces at the painful imagery while Clyde goes off thinking.

"Ha, courtesy flies out the window when the girl goes batshit, huh? Did you at least open up the door for her first when you got yourself ready to run the hell out?" He snickers alongside Token while Tweek refuses to see the humor in the situation. "Hm. Well… C'mon, anyone who shares the same first name as Martha Stewart is bound to be bad."

Tweek furrows his eyebrows as he bites down on his lip. "Ngh! W-where's the fucking logic in that?"

Clyde laughs. "Haha, kidding, kidding!" He takes Tweek's controller and un-pauses the game while the twitchy blonde continues to look uncomfortably at him.

"Dude, it's too much fucking pressure! I can't go on another one of _these_! Jesus, a-another one and I might just bolt out of there…" Tweek sulked.

"Naw, she's cute, her name is Annie Faulk. Not a smart one like Lola, but she's fucking adorable. You like shorter girls, right?" Clyde gave him off a pat to try and relax him. "If you want, you can get some coffee downstairs." Tweek shook his head "No."

Token merely sneered while Tweek stared off into the screen in jealousy. _Lola, huh? Damn it. Bebe just had to put that idea into my head… I… _The third match was setting up. _I am definitely kicking Clyde's ass in this game._

* * *

Read and review, people~ XD


	6. All of Him

My, my, I updated so fast… Oh well, I love this couple, so why not? Hope you enjoy even though I'm taking a slow pace in the plot!

Sorry that the chapter is so short! (It's actually the shortest one up until now...)

* * *

Craig sat by himself in the hall whilst Lola and Christophe went in to discuss their classroom brawl. "Well, this is kind of nice." _It's actually quiet for once._ He breathes in a fresh lungful of air now that the human ashtray was in the other room. Craig found himself dozing off underneath the light breeze of air and the dimmed lighting of the hallways. Yet it was short-lived. Christophe wrenches open the door and is seen stomping out, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth shut tight. His lips are again clamping down on a cigarette. It was almost impossible not to acknowledge the Frenchman. Lola follows behind him, equally unhappy looking. _How many minutes did we waste sitting here anyway? _Craig glances over to the clock before sinking down his neck into his sweater.

"Ah, I knew I should 'ave ditched…" The French guy takes out a lighter and presses it to the end of the cigarette as he strides out from the hall with his noisy army boots. Lola glances over to Craig and blushes before making a hasty exit herself. Craig grumbles into his seat and leans back his head into the wall behind him. He closes his eyes and takes in a breath.

The Dean clears his throat and calls in Craig from the desk. His authoritative voice can be heard booming from inside the door. It sounds low and mechanical. "C'mon in, Tucker. I know you're outside."

He kicks his backpack up and carries it loosely over his shoulder. Craig then takes off his hat and brushes aside his hair as he walks in and settles down on the wooden chair sluggishly. "Well, what's my punishment now?"

_Monotone, dull, nasally, and bored. Here for the millionth time. _He takes off his glasses and rubs at the bridge of his nose as he pauses to think. "… Yeah, let's skip the formalities… I don't want your family coming in and flicking me off like last time when I tried to suspend your ass." The Dean was a wizened, middle aged man, but he resembled more a war veteran or drill instructor than the charge of educational discipline. He wears a white dress shirt that clings tightly to his overweight torso and the sleeves are folded up neatly to the elbows. His red and yellow striped tie is also loosened around the neck. He has a scraggly beard and his hair is brushed back.

_Looks like a mafia hit man like always. _Craig eyes him in a sinister way. "I _told_ you it runs in the family." His legs are spread apart lazily on the chair with his fists pressed down on the knees of his pitch black jeans. Craig is trying to hold back a yawn as he looks at him with droopy golden eyes.

"Your grades are doing fine. You're a straight B student, huh?" He skips a beat when he murmurs under his breath: "God, you're like some kind of _machine_; they're all solid Bs. All practically the same percentage, too..." He grumbles to himself as he studies and analyzes Craig's records. The desk was cluttered and the small tin can he utilized as a pen holder seemed packed with other useless knick knacks. He has a small doll that leans against a picture frame of his wife and three kids. He and the baby (who highly resembles him) are the only two that are not smiling in the photo. "Well, you're doing fine in school. Just _try_ to do your hardest, okay? Stop flicking people off." He sighs wearily as if he's been through all this before, and in many ways, he has.

Craig blinks multiple times when he realizes he'd been talking and mumbles a muffled: "… Yes."

The Dean merely glares. "…" _Oh, like you ever will, you little prick._ The two stare drearily at each other as a quiet war is fought.

"…" Craig remains equally dull and unmoving.

He continues to glare at Craig, his eyes not blinking even once. His hands are clenched together on the desk in front of him. "…"

Craig continues to stare back aridly. "…" Craig yawns softly and then smacks his lips once as he stares on absentmindedly at a piece of lint that clung to the side of the desk.

"You have detention after school for the next week. Or, if you'd like, you can pull out all the weeds for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday." He crosses his arms as he leans back into his reclining office chair.

_The chair seems kind of small for him. _"…"

"Man of _very_ little words." He grumbles.

Craig grumbles silently but otherwise stays still and focused. "…"

"Huh. You don't care, right?" He sighs. "Okay, _goodbye_, Tucker. I'll be seeing you… _Next_ month." He grumpily sighs. He ruffles the records he holds and stacks them neatly into a pile, before organizing them into a paper file and wrapping a rubber band around it. He flaps a hand back and forth to dismiss him. He bows his head lightly as the other nods.

Craig scratches the back of his ear, slips on his trademark blue chullo hat, and shuffles out. As he leaves, he grabs at the two cords on the sides of his hat and tugs it down so the bottom rim of his hat hides his eyebrows.

* * *

When he makes it to the front of the school, he notices Lola sitting at the very bottom step of the stairs. Her hair seemed to be waving softly in the breeze, her long, brown hair styled into a side part with bangs, and held back by a dark green headband. She wears a green sweater and a dark gray plated skirt that went longer than her knees. Under the skirt, she wears black tights, and her set is matched up with eggplant colored mittens and boots. She sits prudishly with her legs pressed tightly at the knee and one hand is at her side, supporting her up as she lightly leaned back. _She's reading something. _Craig begins to approach her. When she hears footsteps from the stairs, she stands up rigid like a statue with her hands held together in front of her.

"Oh, uh, hi Craig…" She whispers as she twiddles her fingers.

"… Hi." He answers back tediously. He usually didn't like wasting his breath on conversations that would probably go nowhere, but he would at least try with Lola since he didn't know her too well.

She turns to face him and she won't meet eye contact. "Uh, z'e French guy v'it a shovel left." She adds in a rather unpolished mock accent. She giggles lightly to herself before blushing and staring back down to the ground. _God, that was so lame!_

He ignores the French accent and skips right to the point. "… Why are you still here?" He grumbles.

She stares up at him in a wounded expression before comprehending his intention. "Oh, uh, I was hoping… Hoping that I could _maybe_ walk with you?" She crosses her index and her middle finger from behind her.

Out of nowhere, Craig slaps himself in the face, making Lola wince. "Crap, I forgot that I had to pick up my sister today…" _Damn it, of all the days I could have gotten in trouble… There was probably only fifteen minutes left in that class too… _He inwardly flicks himself off at his idiocy and forgetfulness. Craig accepted his fate reluctantly as he heaves a jaded sigh. "Today's just not my day."

"Oh… Uh…" She was lost on what to say.

"She's probably waiting at the steps of her school by herself now…" He mumbles to himself. Craig stuffs his hands into his pockets as he groans.

"What grade is she in?"

He glances over to Lola, and she momentarily catches his eyes. "She's in middle school. Her name's Ruby." He exhales noisily. "Look, I have to go. We'll talk some other day." He spins on his heel before walking away. _Should I run? Nah, I'm probably going to be grounded anyway._

Lola taps lightly on Craig's shoulder. "Would you mind if I join you?" She seemed to be holding her breath when he briefly turned to look at her.

"I really don't care." He answered. However, his attitude doesn't daunt her and she fawns at the idea of walking side to side with him.

"Okay." She smiles awkwardly as she holds unto her book with her left hand. She struggled to hold her book bag with her ring finger and pinky. Her right hand was currently preoccupied on whether to try and hold Craig's hand or not. _Wow, he's really tall too. _He stood a good four to six inches over her and she realized it was harder to glance up at his face. _I hope I'm being obvious enough… People say he's pretty unaware despite how he doesn't look it. _She inaudibly squeals into her book at the thought of Craig blushing naively.

"You like books?" He asks. He tries to look over to the front cover for the title but gives up when he realizes her book has on a personalized cloth coat.

_Ah, he's making small talk. _"Yeah, I love them. My favorite subject is Literature… What about you?"

"All the subjects are pretty much the same for me."

"Well… What do you usually do?"

"… TV and video games; otherwise, I just sleep or walk around town."

_That's just like any other guy though… _Lola liked complex and artistic men who had a strong focus in writing and detail. She swallows her disappointment. "You don't like writing, reading, or drawing?"

He cracks his neck as he speaks. "I love to read… And I like to sketch sometimes. I'm pretty lazy though."

Lola perks up. "You should show me your favorite books or sketches sometimes! Ur, if you want."

"… Sure." He undecidedly answers.

_He talks so little… I feel like I'm forcing the conversation. _Lola stays quiet for the rest of the walk and the two make it to Ruby, dozed away on the stairway of her school. "Oh, your sister's so cute."

"She shouldn't sleep in public like this." He growls. Craig undoes his backpack and moves it in front of his chest. After the straps faced the opposite way, he picks up Ruby and piggy-backs her. Lola looks on enviously before they proceed to walk back. "Don't you have to go home?"

"No. I'm fine." She shakes her head. "What about you?"

"I have to go to Clyde's." Lola signals him to give details. He looks at her annoyed before grumbling: "Our parents are working late; we're staying over there." He stops in his tracks as he looks at her. "You're kind of nosy." He states blatantly.

Lola giggles. "I _love _your honesty." Craig looks bewildered. "I just wanted to hang out with you since you say you're not coming to the party." He nods and they continue to walk.

_So that's what this is about. _"Look, parties are over-rated, all they do is get piss-drunk and eat their own shi–"

She interrupts, "No, I think so too; I only wanted to go as your date." She was excessively submissive and compliant to his responses and that annoyed him more. This time, however, his confusion outweighed his annoyance.

_What date? _"Uh…"

"I… I really like you, you know." She closes her eyes and eagerly waits his response. Her hands are clasped out in front of her as if expecting a kiss from Prince Charming.

However, her expectations crash and burns as he uneventfully responds. "Okay."

Lola clenches her fist. "… What about you, Craig?"

Craig sighs. He never liked rejecting girls and he never really cared much whether he dated them or not. Lola was sadly, no different. He looks away as he pauses to think. _She's not as annoying as those other girls. And, she's smart… I guess. _Most of Craig's girlfriends happened only because the girl was willing and Craig was on the neutral side of it all. If there truly were two sides to everything, perhaps in the color spectrum, then Craig would be grey, overtly grey. He was never entirely opposed to anything unless it seemed completely pointless and negatively impactful. "Lola, I –" The door slams open. _Wait, when were we on a doorstep?_

Clyde grins like a cat when he notices Lola on the steps alongside Craig. "Well, well, lady-killer… What took you so fucking long?" He teases, playfully patting him while Craig grumbles.

"Wait a second; it was you, wasn't it?" He shoves a hard finger on Clyde's chest. "You set me up on a date for something in exchange again, didn't you?" Craig stares wearisomely at the other's eyes. Luckily, his voice didn't track any anger, so Clyde could live another day. … Then again, he never sounded heated, just bothered.

_Man, if looks could kill. _"Craig, is Lola staying with us?"

Lola glares back at Clyde. _Craig didn't even know! _"Well, of course. If you're playing video games, I'd love to try my hand at them… Besides, I have to _talk _to you." Her voice turned cold and calculating. Craig raised an eyebrow.

"Ur, sure, let's talk in the kitchen." Clyde whimpers as he leads her over to the dark, unlit kitchen.

Craig lays down Ruby on the sofa as he reunites with Tweek and Token. He seats himself on the floor, leaning unto the leather sofa. "Hey." Tweek and Token were fighting it out in Call of Duty. Both kind of sucked in shooters, so they seemed pretty evened out. Tweek looks up at him nervously and Token gives him the bob of acknowledgement.

"What was up with that fiasco on the doorstep, Craig? She confessed?" Token asks as he pops in some chips into his mouth.

* * *

Clyde seats himself on the counter as he nervously sips down on a soda. He didn't know how to handle angry, smart chicks. She stood against the fridge as she drank the cup of water she had requested. "Clyde… You told me he already agreed."

Clyde puts down on his soda on the marble counter. "Yeah… I lied."

"I'm quite aware of that." She hisses. "… I don't want to be rejected… But I already confessed to him, _thinking _he had already agreed to be my date at the party."

Clyde looked away guiltily. "You want more water?"

"I have plenty, thanks." She waves the half full glass at him before pouring it down the drain. She clutches the empty glass tightly.

_Well, that's a waste of filtered mineral water with citrus flavoring. _Clyde frowns.

"… I'm afraid that he was going to say no. Or if he was going to say yes without really caring… You opened the door before I got to hear his answer." Clyde seems to nod deafly as she drones on. "… There are already rumors about him and Tweek… I don't know if they're true but I don't want to lose to Tweek… I really like Craig… I guess I'm _really_ fond of him." She circles her fingers on the top of the glass, tracing them over the sides.

Clyde hesitates when he hears Tweek's name mentioned. He asks her: "_Really_ like him or just his looks? Tell me, what do you like about him?" Although Clyde didn't show it, he often felt guilty when he set up Craig into dates for his own advantage. _Craig's had enough shallow girlfriends in the past…_

Lola stutters. "… Don't know. I just – I'm not sure yet… But I'm attracted to him for sure. He seems so complex and mature. He also reads and he also draws, but more than that… I just think he's so cool."

Clyde scoffs. "_Every_ girl does!" She looks down, put off by his phrase. He snickers. "Ha, but don't worry, he'll take you as his date. He likes smart, bookish girls. You're _definitely_ smart and bookish." He waves his soda can in front of Lola. She smiles, her confidence returned, and toasts her empty glass with his metal can, making a light clanking sound.

The two make it back out to the room to see Token and Craig playing. Craig was sniping up on some balcony whilst the other was tactlessly running around with a machine gun out. Craig was running low on clips and was salvaging what he had left. Token was preserving the bullets just in case Craig might lunge out. When it came to games of cat and mouse, Craig was almost always the winner. As the sounds of gunfire envelop the room, Tweek seemed to be resting on the couch alongside a sleeping Ruby. He seemed tired.

"Clyde, I think you should get Tweek a coffee." Craig grumbles. Clyde mock-salutes him and prepares another cup. Lola seats herself beside Tweek, who heaves up and down, exhausted and catching his breath.

"Tweek." Lola calls. Said blonde peers up at her from his lying position and twitches. "I was wondering… But… Do you like Craig?"

Tweek stares at her oddly. "Uh… Gah, I do. W-what's this about?"

"_Really_ like him or just as his friend?" Lola asked him curiously, repeating the same question that Clyde had asked her moments before. She twiddles her thumbs as he sits up in front of her. "Like what _parts_ specifically do you like about him?" _What would your answer be?_

"What _parts_?" He repeats.

"Well, yeah. Like, for instance, is it his personality? Is it his actions? Is it his swagger?"

_The fuck, swagger? _"Well…" He answers meekly, scratching his cheek. "I-I like all of him." _I mean, I can't really just like a part or something, right? … Wait… I don't get it._ The cogs stay rusty and un-spinning within Tweek's brain.

She opens her mouth widely. _That's… So different from what I said… From what other girls say…_

Tweek grows flustered. _"_Uh, as a _friend _though…" He abruptly adds. After saying so, he sucks in his lips nervously as she stares blankly at him. "Gah, why, why are you asking?"

"No. No reason. Just some stupid rumors going around…" She giggles, expertly concealing her uneasiness.

When Lola is about to go into stress, an overtly excited voice rings in her ear. "You got fucking owned, man! Woo-hoo!" Token yells as he raises his arms up in victory. He goes hooting to the kitchen to high-five Clyde. Lola turns back to face the TV screen only to notice that Craig had been listening the whole time. He's looking straight toward Tweek, who merely sits there blushing, fidgeting and curling his toes and twiddling his fingers. His golden eyes are sparkling viciously like a panther. Tweek's eyes go wide as Craig stares back at him quietly.

Clyde walks over, artificially ridiculing Craig. "Ha, Token told me you got hammered! C'mon, Craig buddy, now it's you and me!"

Craig scowls. "Don't get too happy. I just want a break."

Clyde sits down beside Craig and slugs him playfully on the center of his forehead. It slightly knocks his hat out of place. "Well, Lola, why don't I school you in first person shooters? You seemed eager to try before." Clyde offers. Then Craig's eyes relax as he loosens up and hands over the controller to Clyde whilst Clyde passes the one Token had used to Lola. The controller awkwardly settles between Lola's delicate fingers. "Lola, you're going to love this! Left 4 Dead!" Token makes his way and seats himself between Clyde and Lola as he helps them slip on their headset. Craig and Tweek sit comfortably on the sofa behind them, out of their hearing range and vision. Lola eyes the two behind her carefully as Token and Clyde pop in the game.

"Tweek." Craig's voice carries no expression, no change in tone, and after a while, Lola just chooses to ignore the strange ambience surrounding the two, trading her discomfort off with the horror-survival shooter presented in front of her. Tweek grins awkwardly at him once more, and the two are reminded of their first lip lock, awkward yet perfect. Craig places a palm over Tweek's and the two hold hands once more. But this time, when Craig attempted to clasp their fingers together, Tweek bunched his fingers tight.

Their palm-wrestling game was back.

As they struggled to best the other, their fingers end up slipping as their palms go sweaty. Craig and Tweek look up at each other, the latter of the two snorting in laughter. When Token, Clyde, and Lola had finally finished their Left 4 Dead session, they sniggered at the sight behind them. Craig and Tweek had fallen asleep while sitting, their heads mutually supportive of each other as they snoozed away. Craig's even breaths were deafened by the sounds of Tweek's contempt snores, a little bit of his side drool being sucked up absentmindedly as he slept. The two had their legs crudely spread apart as they sunk lower into the seat. Their hands were enclosed tightly by each other's fingers and wouldn't budge as Clyde attempted to wake them. In the end, the two dozed away under the grates of the ventilation fan as Ruby slept tightly underneath a blanket right beside them.

* * *

Read and review!


	7. The Note

Man, everyone seems to hate Lola… I actually like her! (Then again, I wrote her!) And I really like Bebe too… And I sort of like Wendy (like her character in the show, but in fan fiction, she usually comes out EXTREMELY mean and whiny).

To **Bloodiemondei**: Thank you for reviewing on every chapter! I really appreciate that. It made me feel special that you took the time to do that :) I like Ze Mole too! Although not as much as my obsessive friend (see below).

To **Katcoo13**: I didn't know what you meant by "Please respond! :D" so I reread your review for questions, but I couldn't find any. So, uh… Hi? Ha, _will _Lola become a jealous bitch and ruin it? Wait and see… *evil laugh* Oh, and I just want to tell you I'm really glad you're enjoying the story! Much love to you!

To **dunno wut to put**: I'm not sure if I should be replying to an anonymous review, but thank you. I almost died when I saw that many spelling errors but I'm glad to know it was because of your phone! (Sorry, I'm anal about stuff like that.) Oh, I love Soul Eater and (only) that pairing! Sure, I'll write a story about them, I was planning to anyway. Thanks for the review!

Ah, and about Ze Mole, I added him on request to my story. One of my friends is CRAZY about him (partly because he's a FRENCH mercenary) and draws fan art of him oftentimes; they're actually really good so I fawn over Christophe myself (she makes him really hot and bloody looking), so yeah… That's that. Friend requested I put him in… Hi if you're reading, Ehri~ Make an account here and draw me stuff! :(

Thanks for the reviews and favorites, everyone. :3

Anyways, I have _way_ too much free time… Chapter Seven update!

* * *

It's another Saturday.

Tweek stirs up from his sleep as he wrinkles his nose and sneezes. "Ngh…" He stares around sleepily, his eyes half closed. _I'm still in Clyde's house? What time is it? – Oh, it's 3:58 a.m. _Tweek notices his bangs drooped over his face and cocks his head to the side, brushing them aside of his viewing range. He peers over to feel a weight over his hand. Craig had shifted his weight when Tweek moved and was now lying on the sofa comfily as he dozed away with his dark hair mussed and his hat cords tangled into his bangs. He was still tightly clutching Tweek's hand. Tweek gently smiled at the sight before lightly prying out his fingers. They didn't budge. He attempts to slide his fingers out of the other's grip. There's no movement what so ever other than Tweek's helpless tugging. "Uh… Craig?" He waves a hand over Craig's unconscious face, and while doing so, accidentally taps him on his nose.

The other merely scratches at his nose idly while making an uncomfortable noise. He turns his back toward Tweek and scuffles into the sofa's warmth. Tweek rolls him back before pinching Craig's nose shut. He flutters his eyelashes lightly before shutting them firmly once more. He makes a mumbling noise as he continues to sleep; now breathing through his mouth.

_Crap._ Tweek sighs and grumbles grouchily. _I love holding your hand and all but I NEED my coffee! _Tweek got pissed when he didn't fill his daily requirements. Whilst struggling to move with an occupied hand, Tweek traces his fingers around Craig's slim waist. _At least I'll have a legitimate excuse to touch him… _And with that thought, he starts to tickle Craig like crazy, sliding his fingers up and down over his torso. No bombarding laughter or any waking reaction, only eliciting a soft moan from the usual frost king. Tweek flinches as he pulls away his hands away from the boy. _W-what was that sound? _He blushes madly before staring at his hand nervously. _Craig… Reacted like that to tickling?_

Craig begins to stretch and Tweek nearly bumps into Ruby and falls of the sofa.

"Gah!" He quickly mutes himself and stares over to Craig who is still sleeping peacefully. _At least my hands are free now. _When he gets up and brushes his crumpled clothing, he sneers at Craig's sleeping position; the other slept rigidly with his knees and elbows bent and his hands out in front of his face. _… He looks so defenseless… _Tweek slowly tip-toes over to Craig, who now faces the sofa. Craig was usually a light-sleeper, but everyone had only been asleep for so long. Tweek was just unusual to wake up so early ahead of everyone. While staring lazily at his napping face, his own chin perched on top of his hands, he positions his face over Craig's, hovering lightly as he gives him a harmless peck on the cheek. Craig suddenly winces at the contact and faces the ceiling, eyes still closed and slips in a warm hand behind Tweek's neck. Tweek turns stiff and waits expectantly. _Is he… Going to kiss me? _Not really knowing what to do, he closes his eyes and awkwardly puckers his lips as he sweats a little. Craig unexpectedly pinches his cheeks and slaps them once before his arms fall back down at his side.

"Damn alarm clock…" He hisses to himself, flicking off the empty air.

Tweek couldn't help but look slightly disappointed. _Well, that figures. _His body is sprawled out coarsely and he continues to snore away as Tweek rubs at his aching cheeks. Grumbling, the twitchy blonde seats himself down on the floor beside Craig, quietly analyzing his features. He notices that Craig's chest heaves lightly up and down once every three seconds. Tweek's thoughts soon turn naughty and he immediately scrambles into the kitchen.

Tweek held in a schoolgirl giggle at the sight before him. Clyde and Token were asleep on the floor; Token was leaning toward the counter whilst wielding a dull butter knife whilst Clyde had both his hands stuck in glass jars: one jar of pickles and one of peanut butter. _I wonder how that happened… _Whilst carefully walking over the two, making sure not to step on them or the strange sticky contents battered over the tiled floor, he pauses to read a small note near the sink. _The handwriting… I don't recognize it. _It was in loose and precise cursive. Tweek reads it to himself:

_Craig! Uh, it's Lola! I had a lot of fun with you guys. Sorry about the early leave, but you were already asleep by then. _

Tweek could barely read it, but it was still visible under the heavily crossed out pen marks:

_You looked really adorable when you slept! Uh, did I write that? _

Tweek notices that after that sentence, there are large smudge marks. Lola had attempted to erase it with the non-existent eraser on the other tip of the pen, but settled on drawing multiple, horizontal lines through it_. _

_I wanted to hang out with you more! It's not that I'm complaining though! Ha, you should have seen what Token and Clyde did after raiding Clyde's dad's alcohol cabinet. It was really funny! Anyways, I wanted to say that I hope you put my confession into consideration because I really do like you and I hope to go out with you one day! Maybe we could have some cute romantic getaway on a cruise ship and it'll be just the two of us. Kidding, kidding! But a girl can always dream, right? I'll be seeing you on Monday!_

She had her name marked at the bottom again, despite having already mentioned it previously in the note. Next to it was a smiley face. Tweek twitches a little before furiously crumbling the paper into pieces in a bout of jealousy and right when he's about to shoot it into the garbage disposal installed in the sink, he stops. _Gah! What am I doing? This is for Craig! _He hastily unfolds the crumpled paper and irons it out with his palm, smudging the ink. "Gah!" He starts to press on it, putting all his weight into it. Tweek makes an unsatisfied moan as he tries to un-wrinkle the note over the edge of the counter. He accidentally tears it in half. "F-fuck!" A groan can be heard by the sofa. Tweek spies over the counter and muffles a scream at the conscious Craig rubbing his eyes. _Wait, what do I do? What do I do?_

"Tweek?" It was Craig's grumpy morning voice: groggy and his signature trait: monotone. He lazily moves off the sofa, careful not to bump into Ruby.

"Too much pressure! Too much pressure!" Tweek screams as he fumbles with the ripped and smudged note. Craig grows alarmed and dashes over to the counter. Tweek faces a wall whilst Token and Clyde's unconscious bodies are sprawled out on the floor.

"What the hell?" is all he says as he tries not to walk over the two on the floor. _This is like something out of the Blair Witch Project._ "What's going on?"

Tweek continues to face the wall and with a nervous gulp, stares down at the note. _What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?_

"Is something in your hand?" Craig walks over calmly and for Tweek, it felt like those dramatic slow-motion sequences.

_5… 4… 3… Ah, to hell with it! _He throws the note into his mouth and swallows it down with a painful expression. He felt like the sharp corners of the paper were punching and slicing their way down his throat. "E-ew…" He shivers slightly before feeling a pat on the shoulder. He holds in a hiccup.

"The fuck are you doing?" Craig stares at him at a complete loss.

Tweek hiccups. "Gah, uh… *hiccup* I just need to - *hiccup* - visit the bathroom…" He strolls down to the guest bathroom, trying to look as cool and normal as he can. Craig is cautiously waiting by the counter, staring at him with an eyebrow cocked. When he hiccups a fourth time, he lunges for the wall for support.

Craig folds his arm skeptically. "… You okay?"

"Uh - *Hiccup* - huh." He quickly pounces for the bathroom door before locking it almost immediately as he went inside. Once beside the sink, he begins to forcefully gag. Nope. No note. It had probably already landed in the pits of his digestive stomach. _Not like I can give it to him at the state the note's in now…_ He hiccups again before splashing cold water on himself. _Crap, what do I do about the note now? _

* * *

When Tweek opens the door, Craig is waiting for him right outside with a cup of coffee. "Here, hot drinks might help you get rid of those hiccups." Craig had poured himself a nice cup of orange juice.

"Thanks... *hiccup*" He takes a sip as he holds down his hiccups. "Isn't it – ngh – when you scare them though?"

"I don't really know. Maybe both?" Craig answers uninterested on the topic. "I don't think I can really scare you either."

Tweek laughs to himself at what he'd expect Craig to do at a haunted house. "Yeah, you'd probably jump out on me with a scary costume only to say a bored sounding _boo_."

"Oh really?" He answers, emotion undetectable in his voice.

Tweek's eyes widen at the hint of sarcasm and annoyance in the other's voice. "Oh, uh… Um."

"I know you're kidding." He chuckles.

Tweek smiles up at him awkwardly. "Ngh, you got me…" When Craig doesn't respond, he continues to sip on the burning coffee. _Man, it's stinging my lips. _

Tweek usually let coffee cool a little before drinking, but when he did that the first time Craig had made him coffee, the other took it entirely the wrong way. _Oh, I guess it wasn't that good_, the other had said monotonously but Tweek knew him. Craig had a lot of pride and he almost never did anything for anyone else, so it was rare for him to brew him his own personal mix of coffee beans. Craig was pissed off that day and refused to talk, so Tweek had rushed over to his house the very next morning with a prepared apology only to completely blank out on his doorstep. He started to fool around nervously with the torn edges of the doormat underneath his unlaced shoes.

There was a millennium long awkward silence between the two as Craig patiently waited with the door open. Tweek is still considered anti-social now, but he was extremely isolated then, some would even say that he was destined to be the crazy old hermit who lived on a deserted island by choice. He was still likely to be that way, but chances were slightly lowered. Fumbling with his words, Tweek blurted out random things. Craig merely raised an eyebrow when Tweek begged him for another coffee on his porch. _Okay? _Was all he mumbled before making him another burning pot of coffee, which Tweek stupidly chugged down to compensate for the other day's misunderstanding. His parents grew alarmed and blamed Craig for Tweek's actions. _I told you that Tucker kid was bad news! _His parents had shouted. It was partly true; Craig was an infamous troublemaker at school; he had good, solid Bs but he never really cooperated with teachers or the staff and obeyed only when he felt like it. Craig had a nasty habit of flipping people off, one that he had inherited from the equally unnerving family.

While Tweek lied on the hospital bed, bored, croaky, and perfectly capable to leave, he had gotten a visit from Craig who had brought him a cool bottle of water for his wounded throat. Craig kept him company during the whole afternoon and evening that he had stayed in the hospital before he checked out. Doctors forced precaution on his throat insistently as did Tweek's parents and Craig had flipped them all off when they had their back turned.

They didn't have any exciting chats due to his sore throat and Craig's inability to strike up interesting topics or carry on conversations (not that they ever really did initially). His parents continued to dislike the stoic raven, but had toned it down more noticeably nowadays. Tweek received minor third-degree burns down his esophagus and talked with a rasp for a week. From then on, whenever Craig made him his own personal cup, Tweek made sure to finish it all in front of him and was awarded with a very faint smile from the other from time to time.

After enjoying a serene moment of silence with Craig, Tweek chugs the cup before placing it into the piling sink. Despite Craig and Tweek cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, Clyde was eventually caught with his hand stuck in the pickle jar… And Mayonnaise jar. The two were called upstairs as Mr. and Mrs. Donovan dialed for Token's parents. They both were grounded for raiding the cabinets. The four had a private chat on appropriate punishment upstairs, but Tweek and Craig could hear the loud screams of Mr. Donovan echoing throughout the house. According to Clyde and Token, Clyde's father had supposedly smelled the forty dollar Patron Tequila and the forty dollar Absolut Vodka bleeding out of their clothes, even going as to expertly name the amounts they had drunk out of the bottles, down to the very last drop.

* * *

After the whole fiasco, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan let them stay for a while only to assist Clyde in his current predicament.

Tweek and Token suppressed a snicker when Clyde started to whimper at the fact that the jars weren't coming off. Craig blatantly suggested smashing the bottles against a hard wall to which Clyde made a horrified expression. "Are you fucking insane, Craig?"

"Hey, it's better than chopping your wrists off." Clyde nearly foamed at his mouth. Craig continued regardless. "This way, it's only going to cut up your wrists and palms a _little._" Craig grumbled, flipping him off afterward. He didn't like it when people supposedly _over-reacted _to his perfectly conventional sure-fire solutions. "At least I'm suggesting a _guaranteed _tactic."

Clyde merely made a flabbergasted face. "Let's see you get your hands stuck in a pickle jar then!"

Tweek added in shyly. "It's not exactly a pickle jar but he did have his gashed palms b-bleed all over my carpet…"

Clyde was a sissy, pure and simple. He was always the first to cry when he was a kid and now as an adolescent, he was always the first to suggest running away from any seemingly dangerous situation. Like Token and Craig was anticipating, said sissy immediately fainted at the thought of blood squirting out of his dismembered hands. Token caught him ahead of time, cushioning his blow to the floor so that the jars wouldn't break and hit everyone in the vicinity. Staring coldly at the cataleptic body, Craig's eyes sparkled sadistically. "Token, hold his arms down. If he thrashes, he might get slashed."

Token jokingly saluted him. "Aye-aye, Captain!"

Tweek merely stood by their side awkwardly only to turn petrified when Craig brought over a giant hammer over his shoulder. He had taken it from the garage seconds ago. It was stained with black oil on its wooden handle, but from afar it looked like Craig had beaten up and mauled something in the garage that spewed black blood all over it. Tweek expected a gentle tap from the hammer to break the glass but his preliminary thoughts shifted once he saw Craig lightly juggle the hammer over his palm with an ominous grin. His black bangs covered his eyes, giving the stoic raven a sinister look as he peered down at Clyde's hands.

Tweek grows alarmed and approaches the devil himself. "Uh, uh, C-Craig? I don't think–"

He swings the hammer.

* * *

"Wake-y, wake-y, artichoke-y." Token cooed as Clyde blinked awake.

"Ngh… What happened? OH MY GOOOODDD!" Clyde started to scream at the sight of two hideous white and red bandage stumps where his hands used to be.

When he glared over to Token, he merely shrugged. "Hey, you thrashed, man."

Then he turned toward a smug looking Craig. "Sorry, I was a bit clumsy with the hammer."

"N-not that! The – the fuck is _this_?" Clyde grumbles, holding up his bandaged stumps.

"Oh, that. Relax, I didn't smash your fingers together… I just chipped off a _little_ bit of skin."

Clyde's pupils dilate as he holds in a girlish scream. "You… Bastard…"

Craig continues. "_However_... If you're talking about the stumps, then it wasn't me; this is all the handiwork of Tweek's professional bandaging skills." Craig said understatedly. "I was in the same situation days before."

When Clyde glanced over to Tweek, he sees that the nervous blonde was staring down at blood-soaked hands. When he caught Clyde looking, he immediately rushes his hands behind him. _I-Is that m-my blood? Oh God… _Clyde faints again.

"Tweek, uh… I think you should wash that blood off." Craig stated the obvious. Tweek stared back at him with a "No duh" expression which Craig immediately flipped the bird to.

"Ha, clean up the evidence…" Token chuckled, unfazed and only a little ditzy as he experienced his first hang-over. Well, at least he was sober.

"Jesus! … I have no idea how you guys can be so calm…" Tweek grumbled, panicking at the sight of crimson painted over his palms. Token laughs as he gathers his sweater to get ready to face the anger awaiting him at home. He sways over to the front door before bobbing his head in acknowledgement at his departure.

Once he exits, Tweek and Craig are the only two that are left conscious in the whole house. After scolding the drunks furiously, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan had settled back into bed, enjoying the weekend off. "Token's still a bit hung-over and I'm _always _calm." Craig grumbled as he stood up to throw away the stained bandages that Tweek had misused. Tweek washes the blood out over the bathroom sink, wiping furiously with soap suds. He makes an annoyed grumble at the lack of paper towels.

"Buckets of blood in horror films built up a resistance, huh?" Tweek laughs as he flicks his wrists to dry them. Craig merely nods as he returns back to their spot.

"Token and Clyde are grounded for who knows how long? That means it's us two for the rest of Saturday and Sunday." Craig added, sounding lackluster.

"Well, uh, what do you want to do?" Tweek asked, trying to match Craig's level of amusement.

Craig pointed over to Ruby who was _still _sleeping. "First, I wake the brat up and take her home. If I leave her like this, by the time she wakes up, she'll be seventy years old and flipping my senile ass off to make up for the lost time." Tweek expresses amusement at the idea but Craig continues to look grave at the thought of that ever happening. He gets up and picks up Ruby to carry her over his back. He slips on his hat that was squished down on the couch. "You ready?"

"Okay… Uh, just wait for me for a second."Tweek rips off a single note from the pad Lola had utilized over the counter. He grabs the same pen she used and proceeds to the restroom. Craig stares at him oddly before gently lowering Ruby back down and relaxing on the couch himself.

* * *

Once inside the guest bathroom, he sets the note down over the flat surface of the sink. _Man, I can only hope I can imitate Lola's writing… _Tweek's handwriting was nearly the exact opposite of Lola's, messy and more or less unreadable at times. He forces his mind to cooperate as he tries to forge the same exact words she used. He tried to write it out as confidently as he could, trying to avoid writing in his habitual stutters.

_Craig, I had a lot of fun with you guys. I wish I could have spent more time with you though… I wanted to talk to you some more but you were tired. You looked really cute when you slept… The way your eyelashes fluttered and your chest heaved up and down after each long breath you took…_

"Gah! What am I writing?" Tweek sighed and went against crossing it out. "Damn it…"

_Ah, I mean… I actually wanted to hang out some more with you… I really enjoyed your company. The way you're so calm and the way you always listen carefully to every single detail... It's these instances that made me smile. After you fell asleep, Clyde and Token went into the alcohol cabinet. It was pretty funny what happened afterward! Their parents scolded them and his dad sniffed out every detail! Anyways, I hope you can put my feelings into consideration… I can only dream that you feel the same way toward me… That maybe we'll be able to go out by ourselves, just the two of us. I think it'd even be enough if you just wanted to be my friend. I'd be happy. I'll see you on Monday then._

Tweek reread the letter. _I think this is what she said… But then again… I…_Tweek couldn't deny the fact that he had incorporated his own feelings into the memo that Lola had wrote and that this was just an indirect way of confessing to his friend. If he compared the initial note to the revised version, there would no doubt be significant changes. It tugged at his heartstrings as he reread it over and over. _No matter how many times I read this… I can still tell that this wasn't what Lola wrote. Damn it! I'm so fucking stupid, why don't I remember? Why is it all a blur what she wrote?_ He murmurs uncertainly."… Do I like him? Do I like… ?" _Craig…_

Craig began to knock on the door, giving Tweek a jump. "Tweek! You're taking forever. Are you constipated?" Tweek immediately stashes the note into his back pocket.

"You're so fucking direct sometimes."He grumbled to himself. Tweek opened the door. _I love that about you… _"Uh, no, I-I'm done." Tweek is visibly flushed from pouring out his emotions into the letter as well as the thought that had surfaced inside his head. _D-did I say l-love? Ur, did I 'think' l-love?_

"Alright, let's go then." He answered as he held unto Tweek's hand. The touch felt warm and affectionate as always, and Tweek noticed that Craig did it more often, more or less on a whim, but almost as if he did out of unadulterated tendency and fondness.

His heart skips a beat at the contact. _I... I think I did._ Tweek lazily grins to himself, happy at the idea of Craig returning his feelings.

As he leads Tweek to the doorway, Craig's eyes suddenly go wide as he abruptly detaches his hand from the other.

"W-what?" Tweek asks, dumbfound at the sudden aggravated motion.

He straight-forwardly asks, a serious and disturbed face plastered over him. "_Hey_, did you wash your hands? Or at least _flush_?" _I didn't hear anything... _He brushes his hands at the thighs of his pants.

Tweek's eyes narrow. _Okay, well… That feeling's gone. _Shrugging his thoughts off, he laughed lightheartedly as he patted at his friend's back. "Yeah, yeah..."

* * *

The two enjoyed a quiet walk to Craig's house. Tweek laughed once Craig dropped Ruby off in her bedroom. Craig had accidentally put her down a little roughly on the bed that she flipped him off in her sleep much like how Craig did himself to Tweek. Craig suppressed counter-attacking with the finger himself. After resting in the hall of the bedroom doors, they stepped outside once more. "Now what?"

Tweek smiled. "Whatever you want, I guess…"

Craig rolled his eyes. "Not this again… Why the fuck are we both so indecisive about stuff like this?" He griped.

_Because we're both trying too hard to keep each other happy? … Well, maybe that's just me… _"Ah, before I forget…" Tweek delays taking out the note, thinking it over slowly as he does so. _Should I give it to him? _Craig looks on curiously at the folded paper held out in front of him. He doesn't take it yet since Tweek's fingers are still tightly clasped around it. He looked extremely reluctant to hand it over._ Should I? Should I give it to him? No… No… I'm being unfair to Lola… I tore up her note… I… _Unknowingly, his hands relax and Craig slowly picks up the note.

"Uh, do you want me to read this?" Craig asks.

He rolls his eyes. _Must I state the obvious? _"No, I want you to eat it." He replies sarcastically. Tweek felt out of character that moment, almost bitter and angry for giving him the note.

"Yeah, yeah…" Craig nods before putting the small white slip of paper towards his lips. Tweek lunges out only to have Craig slip it in without delay.

"No, I was _kidding_!" Craig peers over and holds the actual note out in front of him. "H-huh?" Tweek slaps him on the back. "Gah, you dick!"

He smiles grimly as he waves a pack of white gum in front of Tweek, the same one he had used as a replica for the note moments before. "You're the only who falls for stuff like this." Craig murmurs as he starts to chew. _So gullible and cute… _He offers Tweek a strip of the minty gum.

Tweek grumpily pushes it away. "Gee, no thanks… Gave me a fucking heart attack there…" Craig shrugs and chews the strip himself, storing the rest of the pack in his cerulean sweater's side pocket. _Craig and his stupid, dry sense of humor… Then again… That's the gum that he usually chews, right? _"Well, uh, maybe _one_…" Craig curls his mouth into a small frown as he apathetically reaches into his sweater pockets for another strip. Tweek unravels the aluminum coating carefully and pops the gum into his mouth. _It tastes like him… That peppermint and spearmint flavoring… _He laughs to himself. "Craig?"

Craig bobs his head in reply.

"You taste like toothpaste."

He counters. "_You_ taste like coffee."

Tweek smiles before grudgingly tapping on the note that Craig still held out with his free hand. "Read."

Craig continues to chew lazily as he opens it up. While he blows a bubble, his golden eyes slowly follow the messy text. As he continues to read, his mouth slightly parts and the bubble pops abruptly. His eyes un-noticeably go a little wider. Once he is done skimming through the writing, he folds it back up and holds it between the tips of his fingers. He evades Tweek's gaze momentarily and cracks a shoulder before looking back at Tweek. "Did you… Did you write this?" He looks slightly red in hue but otherwise keeps up his poker face; only his eyes are visibly brighter, shining a magnificent golden yellow than the usual musky yellow-brown. Whilst chewing on the gum once more, he glides a tongue over his lips.

"Huh, uh, no! Uh…" Tweek instantaneously goes defensive, raising his arms up. _I want to tell him, I want to tell him…_

Craig cocks an eyebrow and his voice deepens. "… Isn't this _your _handwriting though?" He looked at him vigilantly with his eyes narrowed and darkened. Craig didn't like being lied to. He holds out the folded note, dangling it in front of Tweek between his index and middle finger. "I'd recognize it anywhere."

"Oh… Ngh, no!" He bites down on his lip.

Craig creases the space between his eyebrows. His eyes are now a dull yellow-brown, changing darker by the minute. "Why would you _lie_ about something like this?" He looks wounded.

"I'm _not _LYING!" Tweek bombarded.

Craig's ears ring a little as he recovers from the ear-rape that was Tweek's outdoor voice. "Then _who _wrote this? They didn't even bother putting their name." He sounded extremely calm, almost to a dangerous sociopathic level. He still looks toward Tweek in disbelief. He wasn't fooled that easily.

Tweek's heart feels like it's slowing down a beat and his breathing speed quickens as he tries to hold his own against Craig's cold and analyzing glare.

_I want to tell him, I want to tell him…_

_I want to tell him._

_I want to tell him! _His thoughts go louder and louder.

_I WANT TO TELL HIM! _His thoughts now match his outdoor volume. Tweek clutches at his brain with his right hand as Craig continues to face him hard like a sculpture.

…

…

…

_T-too much pressure!_

_I want to tell him that I – _

…

…

…

Tweek completely disregards his thoughts, shoving his wishes aside as he opens his mouth: "L-Lola wrote it."

* * *

OH, MY ACHING FINGERS. I hate myself for typing this... It's like a giant fart on your face seeing one of your favorite pairings hit rock bottom like this…

Oh, and did anyone catch the _Blair Witch Project _movie reference? I really love horror movies and whilst _Blair Witch Project _isn't one of my favorites, I loved the atmosphere that was set up throughout it.

Please read and review! And I'll make sure to update soon!


	8. Not In a Lifetime

**C. Wintergreen **– I owe you a million hugs. No, really, I do. I truly appreciated your review and I'm happy that you took the time to write out such a lovely overview for me. Keeping them in character was something I felt I struggled with, hence the annoying rewrites (sorry!) so I was really touched to know that you liked the way they were portrayed. I don't really know what else to say, because honestly, when I read this little (ha, who am I kidding? _Awesomely _long and descriptive) review, all I could feel was little butterflies in my stomach. Thank you... A _lot _lot ~ X3 *hugs you a million times* I think you really inspired me to finish up this chapter :D (I had some Writer's Block)

**Katcoo13 **– Yes, I do have a Deviant Art account, although I barely made it this week. I forgot the password to my old account (old one is called CheeseJerky) so I made a new one under Akavet. Since I go under the same name as my fan fiction account, you'll find me pretty quickly. Sadly enough, DevArt is mostly for artists so I haven't really made much contribution… Thanks for reviewing~

**Greylite** – I didn't like Blair Witch too much. If you'd like some good horror movies from my opinion, I recommend "The Orphanage" (or "El Orfanato" – it's a Spanish movie), "The Ring," "Audition," "The Sixth Sense," and "Three Extremes." Thank you for the review!

So sorry for the late update! Chapter Eight is finally up! :D

**It's super-duper long to make it up for you guys! **

**

* * *

**

"W-what, _Lola_?" Craig stutters, his face devoid of surprise or shock. He merely drops his mouth as he slowly reconsiders the idea.

Despite feeling that Craig was still unconvinced, Tweek stands firmly in his decision and successfully fights back the little voice in his head saying that this was a mistake. "Y-yeah." He nods twice, refusing to open his eyes at the risk of meeting them with Craig. He clenches a fist. _I… I can get away with this… Just don't look at him, Tweek, or else you're DEAD because you're a shit-liar. _He relaxes his hand as he breathes out slowly.

Craig stares blankly and repeats dumbly. "_Lola_?" He grumbles as he rubs at the back of his neck and takes a step back. Craig's head is lowered and Tweek isn't able to see his widened eyes. His pupils were dilated uncharacteristically. He has his hands stuffed into his pockets as his shoulders tense from being hunched up. His throat is perfectly hidden over the raised neckline of his sweater. "_She_ wrote this?" _Well, I guess it makes sense… She's a logical choice for writing sappy love notes… Still… _He shrugs his shoulders as he straightens his neck up and lifts up the note to Tweek's face. "… _But _she's a neat-freak… The writing doesn't match at all. Dude, this is _your_ font." He states logically as Tweek makes an appalled face.

"AGH!" He swallows a nervous wad of spit down as he continues to make excuses, "Ur, don't be anal about this s-shit, man… Think about it, he – _she _wrote it in the morning…" Tweek nervously answered as he twiddled the ends of his scarf, shifting his feet from side to side.

"_Hey_… Give me a minute." Craig furrows his eyebrows as he goes off into detective mode. _There were only seven other people in the house at the time. There's Clyde, Lola, Tweek, Token, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, and Ruby. … It can't be Ruby or Clyde's parents (or else that's just really creepy). Clyde and Token were mentioned in the note so it can't be them… On top of that, Token's undeniably straight for Rebecca and Clyde for hot, blonde chicks. … Then again, Clyde is kind of… Oh, God, no. That leaves Tweek and Lola. _Craig sighs dejectedly as he waves a hand in dismissal. "No." He brusquely stated as Tweek cocked his head in confusion. _I'm not backing down so easily. _He talks softly over the cold air, "She's a _Literature_ geek. She _lives_ for spelling and grammar…" Tweek could see the faint outlines of his hot breath. "… _Common_ errors are here on the note."

Tweek's breathing hitches as the other continues on with a cold gaze. _Shi – _

Craig taps the note with a slim, white finger, circling over some of the sentences. "_These _are fragments and _these _are improper usages of ellipsis."

Tweek's lips puckered in a cartoonish fashion as he struggled to come up with a retort. _Agh! Too much pressure! _If Craig hadn't been right in front of him at the moment, Tweek would have bit down his fingers into little stubs as well as rip out all his hair. He, bizarrely enough, kept his composure. Tweek narrowed his eyes as they scoured the note. _… What the fuck is ellipsis?_ "Ur… L-look, if you don't believe me… You can ask her _yourself_." Tweek put his fingers to the slip of paper in a wheeze. "_She_ wrote it, Craig… Because we were asleep when Clyde and Token got drunk, remember?" He laughs nervously. "Hey – ngh – why would I lie, man?" As his voice overpoweringly intensified in volume, little bits of spit came out frozen in the cold atmosphere.

Craig casually wipes the small dribble of spit on his face. _He's getting kind of defensive… Well, he always is. _Craig stared emptily. … _I guess that makes sense. _He frowns unhappily both in disappointment and denial. _I could have sworn this was his writing. _He rises up his head as he expressionlessly stated. "… I guess that means you read it before giving it to me though, huh?"

Tweek was hardly breathing before but now his intake of oxygen came to a screeching halt. "… Urg… Well…"

Craig's mouth indents down as he calmly folds the note into a tiny piece. He stuffs it into the back pocket uncaringly. "It's cool, I don't mind if you got curious. … Still, it's kind of _creepy _that she thinks so strongly of me." _I barely met her that day._

Tweek winces at the word _creepy. Then, this is for the best… I… I want to remain his friend more than anything. _Tweek looked on with a fake smile, his teeth grinding slowly as the left side of his mouth bunched up awkwardly midway to his cheek. In the inside, he was feeling slightly vexed. _His reaction would have been worse if I had admitted…_

"Huh. Well… I guess I'll talk to her on Monday." Craig answered coolly as he brushed a bang back behind his ear. His face didn't hide the disappointment, his foul mood painted noticeably over his callous features.

_His voice sounds more like a zombie than before… _Tweek's eyes drooped wretchedly as he made a crestfallen face; his relief covered only a small percentage of his mind, remorse covering the rest.

Craig swiped an arm over his shoulder. He grumbles, "Don't make that pathetic face. Let's go to the ice cream parlor." He starts to half-drag Tweek over in a random direction.

Tweek peers up at his friend. _So… Things are back to normal? _Tweek wasn't so sure, but he would try and make the best of it. "I-ice cream? At this kind of weather?" He pointed up to the dull, white sky. Light winds also breezed past them twice every half of a minute. _Huh. It kind of matches Craig's persona. _

"I just feel like something cold." He plainly murmured as the two made their way. Shortly after, Craig detachedly removed his arm from his friend's shoulders. After a couple of footsteps, Tweek abruptly stopped.

"Ur, Craig?"

"What?" He grumbled as he faced his twitchy friend.

"… The ice cream parlor's_ that_ way." Tweek put up a finger, pointing in a vague direction. After a while of no response, Tweek's arm started to hurt as its muscles stiffened and contorted in numbing pain. He started to tic a little as he kept his arm raised. _I – I think it's frozen like that now… _Tweek slowly massages his arm down as he starts to go into a mild spasm, trying to stare at his feet as Craig continued to stare. _This is… This is awkward at best…_

The raven stared quietly at the delayed revelation. "…" His lips turned into a mild scowl as he grumbled to himself. Tweek's head bolted up at the small sound and smiled when he saw the hint of pink shape over Craig's pale cheeks. However, it quickly faded as he turned away from Tweek. Craig, being the stubborn guy he was, continued to walk in the same direction, his hands tensely put into his side pockets as he practically stomped away as before.

"Uh…" Tweek uncomfortably followed from behind, trying to match his friend's speed. _Okay…_

After a while, they managed to hit a small family restaurant – they had a diverse menu up with cheap prices. Craig signaled a hand over and Tweek didn't protest. The two entered the restaurant simultaneously, a single _ding-dong _sounding throughout the cramped tables. The owner, a pretty, young woman, welcomed the two in, beckoning over to a free table by the window. The light that shone through was bright but neither one wanted to touch the stained curtains that hung by its side. Craig calmly slipped in to the seat as Tweek bashed his knees in on the side of the table with a small "Ouch." As he sat down, Tweek admired the cool light gracing over the other's features.

There were only a few others in the area, quietly dining with short slurps and muted chewing as they conversed in a tone of voice that matched ones used in libraries and business meetings.

After impulsively ordering random entrees, silence settled between the two boys as Tweek shifted uncomfortably in his plushy seat. _Err, somehow, I have a feeling things aren't really back to normal… _He looked on wide-eyed, his pupils shifty, as he started to glance around at the colorful ornaments hanging by the decorative shelves of the eatery. Craig was currently preoccupied with silently folding an origami crane out of a thin, paper napkin. Once he was done, he placed down the neatly folded piece and balanced it over the top of an upside-down glass, smirking lightly before he clasped a hand around it, as if cradling a delicate light.

Tweek stared dimly. _W-What's he doing? _As Tweek cocked his head side to side, trying to view it from different angles, Craig tightened his hand abruptly before letting go and dropping the crushed paper crane to the side of the glass. It was crushed into a ball, no longer recognizable. Tweek could only sweat nervously at the implicitly homicidal action taken from the guy across him. _That's – not healthy… _

Craig put his elbows over the table as his golden eyes glowered, the rest of his face void of feeling. With a blank face, he quietly stared as Tweek picked up the ball and tried to mend it back into the perfect crane he'd folded before. It rips in his blunt and ham-fisted hands almost instantly and Craig had to suppress a snort at the horror-struck face Tweek made.

"_GAH_, too much pressure!" He yelled, his face contorting into exaggerated terror. Soon after, his hands balled up into fists beside his head mid-sentence. The other customers stared into their direction in both exasperation and shock, the sound of skidding chairs and clattering silverware ringing out as the cashier woke up from his nap over the paying counter.

Craig smirked as he leaned back into his seat. _Now I remember why we got kicked out of that restaurant that other day…_

Tweek, glancing up toward the others, merely bobbed his head in apology and humiliation. He cleared his throat nervously. _I – I need a coffee…_

Craig's eyes relaxed, the spiteful glare fading as he slowly stretched out a hand and absently clasped it over Tweek's. He met eyes with the twitchy blonde as he squeezed lightly over the other's knuckles. Tweek didn't say anything, instead reciprocating the action lovingly as he faced the left. Craig nonchalantly brings up Tweek's hand, pulling him closer (or as much as he could with a table between them) as he set his lips over the knuckles in a chaste kiss. The twitchy blonde looks up as his eyes droop and calls out: "D-dude – I –"

Dishes clatter over the side table unexpectedly, their orders being placed between the two as Tweek hastily swipes away his hand on instinct. The owner looked down at them with a soft smile before her face contorted into that of confusion when she saw Tweek halfway up his seat, practically climbed over the head of the seat like a cat that had made contact with icy water. "You mind getting down, sir?" She laughed.

Tweek flustered over the action taken as he settled his butt comfortably back down on the cushioned seat. "N-ngh… Sorry…" He jerks one more time when he feels a fork placed down in front of him. "GAH!"

"Calm down, kid… It's a replacement for the one you dropped." She ducks down to pick up the silverware beneath their table. "See?" She slips it into her apron before facing back at Craig. "Need me to get you anything, sweetie?" He shakes his head 'no'. "So _quiet_…" Then she looks back at Tweek, comparing the two, "… And so _loud_. Ha, you two are like the ideal couple – cute…" She giggles with a small salute before making her way past the paying counter into the kitchen.

Turning his head back toward his twitchy friend, Craig asked, "… Tweek, what were you going to say?"

"… Oh, I… I saw a gnome…" He lied.

Craig nods understandingly, "… The one with the AKS-47 again?"

"Y-yeah, man." He slowly peers down at his plate; it's still full.

Craig slowly bobs his head before getting out of his seat. He brings back a Styrofoam cup, the scent of cheap powdered coffee lingers over it, but Tweek seemed desperate for any form of the drink. He wordlessly scoots the drink to Tweek, and the other takes it appreciatively. "… Want to go somewhere else next?" He blandly asks, expecting another "Oh no, you choose" moment from Tweek.

He firmly answers, "Agh! H-hot… Uhm… Want to hang out at the arcade?"

_Hmm. _Craig lightly bobs his head to the left. "… 'Kay."

The two finish up their meal quietly before making their way out, the bells over the door ringing quietly as they passed through and Saturday afternoon gradually came to an awkward yet fitting end.

* * *

Saturday night, Tweek walked Craig to his house. Soft clacking of shoes slid unto the doormat as the two outstretched their hands in an embrace, before hesitantly drawing back on the impulse. "Err…" Tweek mumbled as he scratched the back of his neck. Craig, annoyed, put up two hands to Tweek's cheeks, clasping over them with slightly dry and icy cold hands. His breath could be seen evenly flowing out in the frosty air. The snow squelched under his boots as his lips came to a slow halt before the other's lips. The twitchy blonde was hyperventilating, "Ah, AH! GAH – G – GNOMES!" He swept a hand up as he ran off the doorstep in a hurry, leaving behind a malcontented Craig to grunt in irritation. "I'LL – I'LL SEE YOU ON MONDAY –" He shouted as he turned the corner, still in hyper dash mode, his legs running freely with sprinter like leaps despite being obscured by his baggy jeans. Craig grumbled at the fight that would ensue at the expense of his sleep. Tweek's voice matched that of a live concert and it had gotten the stoic raven into countless amounts of trouble.

The grumpy Armenian guy with the triplets to the right of Craig's house could be heard shouting inside of his house, "HEY! IT'S _FUCKING_ MIDNIGHT! GO TO _FUCKING_ SLEEP!" Craig hated how he accentuated each curse word that came out of his bearded mouth.

A woman, left of Craig could be heard screeching back. "I get up at FOUR, you _INCONSIDERATE_ scoundrels!" She was a middle-aged, single lady; typical office grunt who worked in a cubicle, fixing her glasses now and then as she typed into her computer.

An Asian girl to the front of Craig's house yelled back as she kicked her front door, "Oh, boohoo, _motherfuckers, SHUT UP –_" Eventually, his three neighbors started out a verbal brawl, all at the safety of the front porches. "I'm a' cut you!"

"– Calm the fuck down, assholes!" Craig flipped off the thin air as he slammed the door down, making his entire house shake. He leaned back unto the closed door, before he heard a smash against the doorframe. By the sound, it was probably a vase. Water could be heard sliding down the wooden surface, dripping unto the doormat. _That whore. _He slid off his hat before he brushed all his bangs back in a sigh.

_Great… The neighbors are going to bitch to me tomorrow… And I'm going to have to explain the dented door to Dad._

_

* * *

_

Through the cracks of the curtains, a cerulean glow seeped through from the starry night, dissolving the exhausted raven further into his bed. The moonlight framed his features nicely, giving the dark kid a more approachable, heavenly radiance as he shuffled over the bed repeatedly in discomfort. He currently wore a plain, black shirt with blue basketball shorts, his legs and feet left bare over the kicked covers, sagging unto the carpeted floor beside him.

Currently, Craig was not happy. He got rather gloomy and twisted when he was in the worst of his moods. He lied over his bed as he waited for the dreaded morning to come shining through his stained glass windows.

_Let this damn Saturday come to an end already…_

_

* * *

_

Sunday morning wasn't any better.

He ended up staying awake throughout the entire length of the night, so when he got out of the bed as his alarm rang – saying that he was simply tired would be have been an understatement. _I never pulled an all-nighter before… _He groggily hobbles over to the bathroom in his fatigue as he reaches blindly for the toothbrush as well as simultaneously tapping on the hot water in the sink. His breath hitches when his fingers burn against the gradually heating water from the faucet.

Ruby comes running up to him, equally tired. "Move, turtle-wart! I need to use it too…" She groaned. Craig merely flipped her off as he started to doze away over his sink, steam starting to carry up over his face as well as fogging up the mirror in front of him. He was an extremely light sleeper so he easily woke when Ruby whacked him upside the head. He flipped her off again.

He dressed lazily into black slacks and a white button down shirt as he slipped on blue converse. His signature hat hung loosely at a hook on a stand. He picks it up, slipping it on before tugging down the strings.

After making it down the stairs, he pulled up a chair before he stuffed down his breakfast. His parents and sister sat beside him, equally quiet and hastened in dining manners as they readied for their weekly church session.

"So, Craig, did you have a good night's sleep?" His mother asked sweetly.

"Hm… I would have thought that you'd be able to notice I didn't by the dark rings forming around my eyes." He answered bitterly, his own mother flipping him off in annoyance. He flipped the finger back at her.

"Sugar-muffin, why are you grumpy? You have _no_ reason to be." She asked, her tone once again dripping with honey. Her middle finger was still raised.

"Is that a hint of sarcasm to your _own_ mother that I hear?" His father joins in, peeking through the edge of the newspaper with his mean-spirited, double-chinned face.

"I can speak for myself, honey-bunch," his mother retorts back to her husband. He flips her off with a snarl as she puts up her other finger (the one that didn't currently flick off Craig) in annoyance.

"Yeah, she can speak for _herself_!" Ruby groaned, also flipping her father off.

"Don't sass your father!"

"I can _sass _whoever I want!"

Craig scoffs as he breaks the fight. _I am not in the mood._ "Look… It's _nothing_, sorry," he apologized. His middle finger was also still raised, adding hypocrisy to a supposed truce. Nevertheless, the rest of the family steadily calm down; soon enough, it's returned to their usual funeral setting – all of the Tuckers holding dull poker faces as they wordlessly ate. With his free hand, he hovered a spoon over to his opened lips. He chews softly. "It's the lack of sleep catching up on me." His mother nods quietly as she readies some waffles over the toaster.

He lowers his finger as his little sister speaks up, rising up her spoon as she spoke with a mouth full of cereal. Ruby sneered, "Oh-ho. It's no duh since you spend so much time with that _insomniac.._." She's also monotone, a trait inherited from the same set of parents as Craig, despite Craig's constant refusals on Ruby being blood-related.

Craig immediately flicks a finger in her direction. He currently organized his peas into perfect rows and columns across his plate, spearing each individual pea with the sharp teeth of his fork. Ruby winces at the thrusting, gouging motions before raising both her middle fingers in retort. He calmly goes off into his dazed and peaceful inner thoughts: _… This one's for Ruby… This one is for me alienating Tweek… This one's for all the fucked up people in the world… This one's for fucked up Cartman who's a complete dick… Another one for Cartman, for threatening me… ANOTHER one for Cartman, for those stupid schemes of his… Cartman for tricking me… And ANOTHER – _

"Huh, who's that? _Clyde_?" His dad asks, unfazed at his son's explicitly bloodthirsty stabs with his fork and his daughter's vulgar hand motions.

The dish breaks under Craig's constant stabs and he murmurs unblinkingly, "Huh… My bad."

* * *

Church flew by as Craig had fallen asleep on the stands as the pastor preached to them. No amount of hitting and yelling would make the usual light sleeper budge so they eventually gave up, apologizing to the pastor multiple times as they flipped off the dazed Craig on the ride home. When he woke up and his family yelled at him in complaint for the public embarrassment, he merely replied with a sigh and an: "Oh."

* * *

Sunday afternoon ended relatively fast, in contrast to the painfully slow, awkward Saturday evening Craig had spent with Tweek. Monday morning came and Craig walked to his bus stop. Token, Clyde, and Tweek all stood there waiting. Token gave an acknowledging bob, Clyde waved happily, running over to Craig, and Tweek twiddled his fingers awkwardly as he came walking slowly, fidgety and twitchy in his steps. His jeans sagged and dragged across the pavement as he stepped near to Craig, who stared back at him coldly. He ruffles his hair before stuffing his frozen hands into his pockets. He didn't seem too warm.

Clyde spoke up, "Ha, dude, my parents grounded me for a month. So far, life's been a hungry bitch."

"… What's the difference between hungry and full?" Craig asked nonchalantly.

Clyde's smile drops as he sweats, "… Er, I don't… Know."

Craig mumbled monotonously. "I see." His eyes meet with Tweek's and Tweek faced him with a forced smile and a flip of the scarf.

"Huh?" _What's up with them?_ Clyde looked up confused as he patted the raven's shoulder. "Ah, the bus is here."

The bus pulled up and Craig sat, like always, next to Tweek; he dozed off by the window once more and Tweek stared at him, pondering over whether to strike up conversation with him or not.

Token and Clyde sat across them whilst Kyle and Stan sat behind them, chatting away happily about their weekend. Kenny currently acquainted a pretty black-haired girl, flirting with her through muffled speech. Regardless of the fact that his words were incomprehensible, she giggled happily, clutching a thin textbook to her chest. Sadly enough, with nobody willing to sit next to the neo-Nazi, Cartman chose to currently torture the submissive Butters with a new plan off in the back.

When they arrived at the spot, they all came rushing out, Tweek stopping violently in his tracks, his side bag swinging like a pendulum as he saw Lola get off from her mom's car.

She looks off to her right, immediately making lovey-dovey eyes toward Craig, who stared back with a bland look. "Hey," he answered when she waved, walking off in her direction. "I'll see you later, Tweek." As his black sneakers clacked over to Lola, Tweek shot out a hand and grabbed him. "Hm?" Craig turns to see a pissed off looking Tweek, paranoia and anger mixed into his usually frantic face. The raven looked as laid-back as always despite feeling the same.

"… Dude, uh… Ngh – Good luck with Lola," he muttered lowly as he let go. Craig wouldn't take that; he wrapped his hand around Tweek's.

"Don't you have something to tell me?" Craig asked, interlocking his fingers so that their palms met tighter.

"..." Tweek wraps his fingers around the back of Craig's hand quietly, exchanging body heat with the warm skin.

"Anything at all?" Craig grumbled, his volume gravely lowering into that of a threatened whisper.

Tweek smacks his hand away violently at having his sincerity challenged once more. "N-no, fuck, I just… I just wanted to wish you luck."

The look the stoic raven faced him with was one filled to the brim with resentment and provocation, the very death glare that he was most famous for. Tweek felt like all hell froze over when his eyes got in contact with such a stare. "Ch'." He clicked his tongue once before walking away to the eager Lola that continued to stand petrified and amorous over the raven.

Tweek kicked the soda can at his feet, almost as hard as he would've a gnome. It flies through a glass window and the twitchy blonde could only nervously tiptoe away as he rejoined Clyde and Token.

* * *

Lola shyly bobbed her head down as he stopped in front of her. "H-hey, Craig…" She trailed off.

"… 'Sup?" He mumbled, a little gung-ho slipped in due to his frustration. "… We have to talk."

"Of course." She smiled, looking up at him, before standing stiff at being so close to her crush. "… Where to?"

"Where do _you_ want to talk? Just a bit of privacy will do." Craig asked in a most gentlemanly manner as he offered up the choice, well, if it wasn't for that trademark nasally voice and the "I really couldn't care less" face.

"Whatever you want." _Ah,' privacy'?_ She started to reminisce over past romance novels that she'd read as she continued to fawn over the details of what was yet to come.

_I hate it when people are indecisive… God, this is going to be like that one time with Tweek all over again. _He bit down on his tongue at the name. _Tweek. _"You go ahead and choose already. I don't need another 'Oh, no, _you _first~' session right now." He mumbled out, indifference plastered all over his unfeeling face.

Lola, however, was unaffected once more, far too absorbed into her beliefs about fictional 'bad boys' having a _sensitive _and _tender _side to them that took a loving person (herself) to bring out. Craig, sadly enough, _really_ had none of such things, but he had plenty of pessimist and realist qualities that would constantly diverge against Lola's optimist and idealist character traits. "… Ah… Well, how about I lead you somewhere nice and quiet?"

_Wasn't that what I had initially suggested? _Craig never disliked Lola, in fact, he was slightly fond of her cleverness and her delicate voice, but he wasn't feeling too tolerable to even the subtlest pushes and pulls. "_Just _go." He answered, massaging the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. He felt only a little startled when Lola timidly pushed her hand around Craig's elbow. He stared at the touch silently as Lola happily led him away by arm.

Craig didn't show any trait of discontentment at the delicate hold and that encouraged Lola further. She closed some of the distance between them, making it a blatant show of flirtation. Tweek could only hold open his mouth in shock whilst Token and Clyde high-fived each other at successfully hooking Craig up with a girl who wasn't the stereotypical airhead that he often detested.

"… So, Lola…" Craig called, the two seated at a bench, isolated from the rest of their classmates. "… Did you write this note?" He slipped out the carefully folded note from his pocket. Lola nodded as she accepted it from him and opened it.

Now, Lola really had written a note, so she could only stare in shock at the monstrosity that was presented before her. _W-what is THIS? Such ugly handwriting… And the grammar is terrible! Who… Who would rewrite my note? _She held in her horror expertly and folded the note back up. _Whoever wrote it revised my words entirely… It sounds so desperate and doting… _"Craig… I –"

He breathed out his nose loudly. "… So you didn't write it, huh?" Craig answered for her. _I figured as much. That Tweek… _

Lola felt a twinge at her heart. _No… I like Craig… I don't' – _"No. I – I did write it… I'm just so embarrassed… I guess – I guess I wasn't thinking right when I wrote it, seeing as how there are so many errors… Oh God, and my writing came out terrible, didn't it?" She gritted her teeth at the guilt that tugged at her heart as she lied. _I mean – I did write it, didn't I? Not exactly this note, but I am… I do like Craig that much… _She gulped as her voice trembled, "Craig – What'll your answer be, then?"

Craig's golden eyes widened. _She – she wrote it? _"… So it _was _you." He slowly accepted the idea as he felt apologetic at the way he had treated Tweek before, bombarding him with half-assed accusations. _I let my own crap mix with the truth. _He slipped off his hat as he brushed a hand through his hair whilst simultaneously pushing lightly at his lips with his tongue.

"I hope my momentary flubs don't get in the way of your perception of me… I won't be like other girls… This isn't just about looks or popularity for conquering the ice king…"

Craig raised an eyebrow inquisitively. _Ice king? What the –_

"I fell head over heels for you; you're so _different _from everyone else… So _complex _and I _get_ you. You're not as heartless as you lead on..." Lola was uncertain about her love for him, but she was convinced that he was certainly someone special in her heart. "… So _please_… Tell me. Do you feel the same?"

Craig sighed and with no pause or pity to his stride, he replied coldly, "… Lola, I can't say I feel the same."

Her heart sunk as tears trailed down her cheek; she wiped violently at them before he turned to look, his face contorting into both repulsion and sympathy. He got his hat and wiped at them, tugging painfully at her eyes. Her skin felt violated and swollen under the rough touch, but she stayed quietly still, loving the way his fingers lightly traced her cheek at the sides of his coarse hat that he ineffectively utilized as a handkerchief.

"_Damn_ it, don't cry. I didn't say no, did I?" He bluntly stated. Lola, as soon as the reply was absorbed, immediately lunged up, embracing him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms sat at his sides stiffly as he sighed jadedly. _This is going to be Lisa all over again, isn't it? What's the point?_

"Craig…" Lola hummed into his ear as she shyly held on to him.

_Damn it._ Leaving his arms at his side, he glided a tongue over his lips.

_Just… Damn._

_

* * *

_

Tweek currently faced his own problem. His back is pressed up against a wall as he peers over to the corner to see his nightmare.

A cute, short girl sat over the edge of a bench, her legs swinging back and forth like a toddler. Her hair is curly and fluffy, like that of a huggable teddy bear, and it is messily clipped on both sides with green butterfly hairclips. She's approximately 5'2 and her face is one that is not yet rid of baby fat. She is… Annie Faulk.

The girl had on loose, teal colored overalls that intensified her girly, lean frame and a set of white gladiator heels that contrasted with her sun-kissed ankles. She was currently waiting to talk with her date to Heidi's party, her _very _reluctant date. Annie was understandably bored, having sat there for quite a while now; she glances down at her wrist watch before she huffs and leans back into her seat.

Tweek clutches the side of his backpack as he scrunches up his shoulders, "C-Clyde, man, I-I don't know if I can do this…"

Token starts to laugh as Clyde grumbled. "Dude, this is _adorable_ Annie Faulk we're looking at. God, you're acting like she's the fucking Terminator, Tweekers."

"… Dude – _shut_ up – it's – it's always the harmless looking ones, man! Christ, they're all out to get me or something…" His breathing hitches as his eyes twitch. Clyde held out another cup of coffee for charm. Tweek had only gotten this far due to the constant cups Clyde entranced him with – a total of seven. It was obvious that Tweek was running on adrenaline from all the caffeine he had been supplied with as compensation in the last few minutes.

Clyde sighs, "I already _apologized_ for the last date; I swear I didn't know that she was a perverted fetishist –"

"Ngh! _Bullshit_, man! _This_ – this is too much pressure!" His fingers stretch out in front of him, the joints twisted dramatically to form a disturbing look to the already paranoid, eccentric junkie. It made perfect sense why he was feeling the way he was after all the unusual blind-dates Clyde and others had set him up with. He feels fingers tap at his back. "H-huh?"

A small, curly-blonde afro could be seen as Tweek peered behind him and down. "Tweek," she calls out as she turned her head up; it was Annie. She had noticed the screaming wall and the smell of coffee for quite a while now.

The blonde lunges back as she jerks at the sudden motion. "GAH! JESUS!"

Token and Clyde slap themselves in the face. _What a first impression…_

Clyde laughs nervously as he pulls the rigid Tweek toward Annie, dragging the other's soles across the ground as they tried to root themselves permanently in. "Uh… This is Tweek, your date." His voice is strained as he tries to talk normally despite such a fail of a first encounter. Token nudges Clyde on the side and the two abandon the two "lovebirds."

Despite feeling slighted at the horror-struck face Tweek made whenever his eyes made contact with hers, she seemed satisfied enough as she studied the other's features. "Uh, Tweek?" His breath hitches once more. "I'm Annie." She holds out a hand which he awkwardly clasps over, their arms creaking up and down like that of a crudely oiled machine: in an erratic, jerky motion. "… _Ha_… You're funny." She laughs, a bit nervous herself at the unsettling atmosphere and the paranoid stares Tweek assailed her with. The two stood awkwardly, Annie moving her toes around whilst fidgeting with her heels as Tweek tried not to hyperventilate at the possibility of her being a dreaded gnome.

In short, Tweek was undeniably the grand master of awkward moments.

* * *

Craig and Tweek meet up again in nutrition time. Their trays clack down as the two sit with Clyde, Token, and a random guy with sideburns. Craig couldn't recall his name.

"Tweek, _so_… Did you like Annie from what you've seen so far?" Clyde asked, munching down on some gross, pasty cereal. After a couple of chews, he sets down the spoon as he scoots the plate over to Token and forcibly gulps down what was already placed in his mouth.

Craig blinks once. _Annie? I vaguely remember Clyde telling me about her that one night…_

"… I _told _you – ngh – that I hate set dates, man…" He answers, low on energy due to all the coffee he drank before. He was currently experiencing what was a giant crash and burn. His head is bobbed down as he clawed on the sides of the table for support. "Aw, man… Gah… The fuck was in that coffee?" His voice is unnaturally mellowed out and weak as he continued to burble over the side.

"How many cups did you give him?" Craig asked, tapping lightly over his tray. _Rice isn't supposed to be glowing blue…_

"Just twenty-something…" Clyde whispered under his breath.

Token shook his head disapprovingly, "_Told_ you it was a bad idea." Clyde shushes him rapidly.

Craig parts his mouth in surprise when he sees a piece of rice crawling toward the edge of his dish. "…" He coolly brought over a plastic fork to hover over the dish – honing in on it with expert precision before driving into it, eliciting a squeaky bellow from the rice. His face is unaffected as he repeatedly stabs his dish, the sound of dying rice filling the air. "… So what happened?"

"Well… He was _really _hyper in first period, flipped his desk twice before being escorted out. In second period, ha, his head crashed down on the desk, denting it." Clyde chuckled, stopping abruptly when Token shoved the plate back to the original owner. "Ah, Token… I don't want this shit." He whined under his breath.

Ignoring Clyde's groans of disgust, Token suggests to the downed Tweek, "Just go with her once. She's really cute… Hm. Speaking of cute…" Red is seen passing by their table with a flirty grin as she waves to her man. "Hey, Rebecca, you mind if I join you?" She grins before locking her arms with the seated Token. The two walk their way on with a playful arm lock, Rebecca leaning on his shoulder as he lightly tugs.

Craig snorts, "Typical." He then sees Lola waving at him at the girls' table. He waves back half-heartedly, before widening his eyes when she gets from the table to walk to his. She's seen pulling a timid looking Annie over, to which Tweek frantically scatters off from. The two girls pause to giggle and the blonde immediately bids adios. "Ah – Tweek –" And he was already gone. He pulls out from his seat only to feel a delicate tug at his arm.

"Craig… Why didn't you tell me _Tweek_ was dating my friend, Annie?" Lola giggles before looking off worriedly at Annie when there's no sign of said boy. "_What_? Wasn't he just sitting next to you?"

"… Yeah," Craig answers bluntly, standing beside the two shorter girls as he also glances around for the AWOL.

Annie ruffles her straps sullenly; she tugs at the taller Lola's arm before whispering into her ear: "Lola… I don't think he's too into me."

_This is the least I could do for him. _Craig, catching it with perceptive ears, murmurs, "He's just a little…" _What's the word? _"Shy?" He offers up unsurely.

The cute blonde girl pulls lightly at her short tips, "You think so? … He's been avoiding me. I mean, it's _really_ obvious."

Lola whacks her on the back consolingly, "Let's do a double date. Maybe Tweek just needs some familiar company, like Craig."

"That sounds nice." Annie looks up hopefully, before her face collapses when she sees the deserter hiding behind a trash can, his light yellow hair poking out from the top. Thinking she hasn't noticed him, he sneaks into the bathroom, the door clacking rather loudly behind him.

Craig narrows his eyes.

_Oh… You've got to be kidding._

_

* * *

_

Tweek's head lunges up from the sink when the bathroom door creaks open, but his face goes into relief when he sees that it's Craig. "C-Craig… The bell rang for third period."

"Yeah," he answers before handing Tweek a soda.

"_Ngh_… What's this?" He didn't like Sprite too much, although he appreciated the fact that the amount of caffeine in a soda matched that of a coffee.

"You've had too much coffee." Craig blatantly states, not sparing Tweek of any of the unnecessary, embarrassing details, "Clyde told me you crashed during second period, that you drooled over the desk while sleeping with your eyes wide open."

Tweek grumbles before snapping the can open and sipping minimally, "_Ugh_… Thanks." _I never liked this carbonated stuff… _However, being something that Craig had personally bought for him, he slurped heartily before coughing at the effervescent liquid that tickled at his throat and tongue.

"Slow down." Craig takes note of Tweek's dripping hair. His clothes remained damp from being utilized as a towel whilst his hair was drenched in water, soaking his cheek and neckline as droplets travelled down the outline of his skin. "… Sink broken?"

"Yeah… S-splashed me…" He swipes a sleeve over his face, practically wringing his skin off as he pulled and tugged ineffectively. "– Gah, don't you hate it when the faucet is w-way too close to the edge of the sink?" His cheeks are slightly bruised red from the harsh contact yet just as wet from before.

Craig chuckles at the remark, "Yeah." He slowly walks toward Tweek, slipping off his hat as he did so. His obsidian bangs fall gracefully to the sides of his ear as the blue fabric is held in his hands.

Gazing down, Tweek absently started to count the tiles Craig stepped over as he approached. When Craig progressively came to a halt before him, the toffee colored eyes gradually moved up – starting from Craig's black shoes to the lean torso to his apathetic face. Craig's eyes were unreadable as always, but Tweek stayed engrossed in its dark stare. The stoic raven brings up his hand and brushes lightly and gently at Tweek's moist face and sopping hair with the cloth of his blue chullo hat. The fabric sweeps across Tweek's face tenderly as it wipes up the water. Craig repeats this action before accidentally dropping his hat into the wet tiles below. He stares quietly before moving his hands to the sides of the Tweek's face, grazing his skin seductively with his sleeves as well as with the soft and sensitive flesh of his palms.

Tweek had apparently collected a puddle of water underneath them and the hat starts to soak up all of the dirtied floor water like a sponge. Tweek's coffee colored eyes continued to look down as it did so. Craig wrenches the blonde's face up before pulling back Tweek's wet bangs to better reveal his face; it was a healthy tan color, still pale but a more normal skin color as opposed to Craig's near ghostlike tone. The blonde himself firmly grips at the side of Craig's face with one hand, the other settling around the other's shoulder before lightly tugging down a quarter of the sweater.

Craig's lips hover over Tweek's, and vice versa, almost meeting halfway before they retract their arms hastily at the doors that fly open. Craig nearly falls back from the rushed release, slipping partly on the puddle, before Tweek grabbed at him with a: "F-fuck!"

It was only Butters and Kenny.

Butters had his aquamarine jacket zipped up to the top as he held unto the Hall pass. "Oh, h-hello Craig." Butters wasn't too surprised at the raven's truancy, him being infamous for countless offences. However, when he sees Tweek alongside Craig, he speaks up: "Tweek? W-what are you guys doing, dawdling around while class is still in s-session?" Butters spoke with a mild stutter and fidgeted with his hands, still retaining a sunny and oblivious disposition even at the questionable closeness Tweek and Craig's position currently confirmed.

It didn't help that Craig's sweater was slightly pulled off the shoulder and that Tweek's pants were suggestively sagging from the water, his stomach exposed from the mismatched buttons. It _also _didn't help that they looked out of breath along with their hair being mussed from each other's touches (but that was primarily due to Craig's almost-slip).

The perverted blonde wrapped his hands over the eyes of the gullible blonde. "Ah… Butters, I don't think you _really_ want the answer to that. Implications are that it's XXX," Kenny sneered, his speech clear and his orange hood down and dangling at his back, cackling softly at the possibilities. Craig flips him off as Tweek faces him with a grunt and a drop of the eyebrows in a tedious stare. "Ah, there's the Craig we all know and love." Butters lightly shook the hands off.

"K-Kenny, go ahead and use the bathroom already… I think the teachers will notice that we've been gone for a long time," he mumbled worrisomely. Craig found his child-like inflection rather grating at times, but Kenny and Tweek didn't seem to notice much about it, listening normally.

"Geez, all I did was pick at some poor sucker's locker on the way… Don't be such a _prick_." He twiddled the handy lock-pick in his hands, "_Besides_, Butters… I needed the money more than they did." He laughs mischievously as he walks into an empty stall. Craig wasn't too fond of him, Kenny being a willing participant to some unmentionable perversions in South Park as well as countless amounts of Cartman's stupid schemes.

Craig and Tweek stand awkwardly, both of them sweeping back their bangs as the prudish and childlike-innocent Butters stood beside them, leaning against one of those metal death-trap of an automatic dryer machines. He lunges forward, as does Tweek, when it activates under the push, blowing hot air out in a flurry. "JESUS!" Tweek screamed as Butter yelled, "OH, HAMBURGERS!"

Craig didn't bother saying anything and merely sighed.

* * *

"… Hey. Where do you want to go?" Craig asked, now out of the company of both the pervert and the prude, having readily ditched them in the bathroom as soon as Kenny began to unbolt one of the mirrors that hung at the walls.

"_This'll make a nice addition to our family bathroom…." Kenny grumbled as he began to unhinge the edges. "Hey… Did'ja know my mom lived twenty years without seeing her own reflection?" He struggled as he continued to twirl the tool in sharp circles. Craig noted that the pervert had a lot of thieving experience._

"_I-I get it! You're poor! D-don't do this, Kenny!" Butters merely whimpered in horror as he tried to stop the other._

Tweek and Craig turned a blind eye to the common robberies Kenny inflicted as did everyone else with the exception of Butters who had reluctance to illegal crimes. They were currently crawling out from the bathroom windows, tugging each other as their knees met with the snow.

"… I'm not too sure. I-I haven't really skipped school before," Tweek groaned.

"Choose," Craig said.

Tweek twitched, "Agh, don't pressure me, man… I-I don't know…"

Craig merely rolled his eyes.

Tweek catches it and scowls mildly, "_Okay_, okay… Ngh, don't be a dick, man."

He flipped him off.

Tweek merely wrinkled his brow, "_Err_… Want to go watch a movie at the theatre?"

Craig seemed to be okay with that; he gives Tweek a thoughtful look as he tugs down the strings of his damp and dirtied hat. "Mind if I choose?"

Tweek hesitantly nods, "Uh… Uhm." He gulps. "S-sure, why not?"

_Please don't be horror; please don't be horror; for the love of –_

_

* * *

_

_Thank GOD. _Tweek sits comfortably as the trailers play. The lights were already dimmed down as commercials and subliminal messages in advertisements played. The place is pretty empty, not too many people in the rows or the walkways. Tweek could comfortably perch his feet up on top of the seat in front as he sunk in deeper into his place; it reclines slightly under the weight.

Currently, cute polar bears began to dance as they clutched unto Coca Cola bottles, utilizing their cute, fuzzy stomachs as sleds. Craig walks over with popcorn, a vanilla milkshake, and a large cup of coffee, taking the seat right beside him as he also settles comfortably into the seat. Tweek had absolutely no idea what he was watching, having given his part of the money for Craig to purchase tickets. It seemed harmless enough at the infant-like mannerisms the current trailers encompassed. _Seems like a nice family movie. Not really my style or his, but cool. _"So… W-what's the name of the movie?" _Polar Bears: Attack of the Global Warmers?_

Craig throws a well buttered popcorn piece into his mouth, "Allegory of the Damned." He clacks the drinks into the reliable cup-holders beside them as Tweek takes in the name.

"…" _WHAT… THE… FUCK? The hell kind of name for a kid's movie is that? _Tweek grudgingly brings himself to ask as he presses a palm to the other's thigh; Craig faces Tweek with a blank expression. "Ngh… What _kind_ of movie is this?"

"Oh, not too sure; heard it's pretty tame though," he answers nonchalantly as the trailers come to an end and the "Cell Phones Off" warning comes up. Craig and Tweek power it down as the latter continues to shift unnervingly in his seat afterward.

Tweek's coffee was shaking in his grasp as he continued to slurp loudly to calm his nerves. A man shushes him from behind. He unwillingly puts it down as he repeats to himself. _It's just another cheesy exploitation film for teens… I'll be completely fine. _Tweek swallows a cough as he continues to watch.

_I'll be fine – _

_

* * *

_

"- GAH! F-fuck! W-what the FUCK, Craig?" Tweek was crouched into his seat as the screen continued to splatter with guts and gore. The entire theatre was empty, every other person having left at the brutal, disturbing, and controversial methods of torture presented in front of them in widescreen format. They were currently watching horribly deformed mutilations performed at the hand of an oddball outcast, one that has faced the epiphany that this would always be as exciting as it got for her average and conventional life.

Craig sat unfazed as he sipped his milkshake through a striped straw, "Hey, want some?" He brings over the milkshake to Tweek, who shakes his head side to side multiple times. Craig shrugs before blankly staring back at the screen. "Damn, this shit is tame," he grumbles imperviously.

Tweek faced him with a long and hard stare even at the agonizing screams that sounded over the speakers. However, his attention is snapped back to the screen when the demented protagonist drives the dull end of a ruler to a hooker's inner thigh. He suppressed his screams as he continued to watch with muted horror. _JUST HOW LONG IS THIS?_

The movie was practically a snuff film, filled with unending chains of kill after kill. The final scene, after an excruciating two hours in movie length, is in an interrogation room where her traumatized mother begs her to explain, "WHY? Why would you do this?" She's seen sobbing as her makeup runs and her mouth is wide open and bawling.

Tweek could no longer blink at this point, his efforts of closing his eyes in vain as the horrid screams played in surround sound. He twitches at each little sound, clawing his armrest. He looks over to Craig.

He was sleeping… Like a baby.

It was true that Craig seemed tired throughout the day, but it should have been considered godlike being able to nod off in such an atrocity of a movie.

_H-HOW CAN YOU SLEEP THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THIS?_

Tweek's head snaps back, flinching violently – his legs scrunching up to the rim of the seat and his messy yellow hair blown back, when the psychopathic murderer begins to speak:

"… _Because_ I could," she answered as her mother is dragged out of the room. The ending is tragic (more like _wonderful_) as the psychotic girl begins to laugh herself to death in her prison cell, the day before her intended execution by electrocution. She's lying down over her murky bed; her face is permanently paused in maniacal laughter prior to being awakened before a blinding light and smiling for the first time at an unknown entity. The end credits play over a faded picture of a woman bathing in blood.

Tweek's voice was raspy from yelling and he could barely utter a pained whisper, "Christ…" He realizes that his coffee had been long-spilled across the already sticky, stinky theatre floor.

He screams when he feels a warm hand gingerly place over his shoulder. Tweek could swear that his heartbeat stopped beating then and there. "… Hey." It was Craig's voice. "You okay?" It's slightly groggy. His eyes are slightly dull in color, blinking a couple of times before his signature sharp gaze returned across his face.

_Oh, just peachy. _"I… Gah… I feel like _sh-shit_." Tweek had to hold back his stomach's contents, gagging only a couple times as they made their way out of the ghost-town like theatre. _I don't blame them for leaving…_

"What'd you think about the movie?" Craig asked as if it was the most logical and comfortable question in the world; the fact that his voice was unfaltering, nasally, and dull was amazing to Tweek.

"… D-dude, I – I… Oh, damn, I mean – Jesus! Craig, you – Ngh," he couldn't form any comprehensive sentence at this state.

* * *

It was broad daylight when they had come out, so Tweek's current fears didn't worsen, but the happy-go-lucky daylight wasn't exactly rectifying his current state. "… Gah! D-do you think that lamp-post just moved right now?" The two are currently walking side by side, strolling around the streets while school was still in session.

"No," Craig answers.

"… Ngh, I _swear_ that _that's _a sniper rifle perched on top of that guy's windowpane..."

"No, Tweek."

"… F-fucking gnomes are peeking out of the _sewer_, man!"

"… _No_, they're not."

"She looks like a Martha, Craig… A _Martha_," he hissed under his breath. Martha was the name of the twitch fetishist that sexually harassed Tweek not too long ago on a blind date.

Another sigh, "She's not a Martha, Tweek. She's a _Marissa_," he corrects.

"H-how'd you know?"

"… She's wearing a name-tag."

"Oh."

"…"

"F-fuck, do you see anything unusual, Craig?"

Craig sighs, "Yeah, I see a wild-haired blonde who looks like one crazy son of a bitch..."

Tweek lunges up in horror as he squirms around the area in a defensive stance, "W-WHERE?" He's currently ducking beside the glass wall of a convenience store, clutching unto the leg of a chair that he had picked up blocks before from an outside café.

"…" Craig, growing increasingly annoyed, takes his toasty hand out from his pocket before wrapping it around Tweek's.

Their fingers wrap tightly around each other's. The blonde's heart flutters and the stoic raven sighs in liberation at the silence. He doesn't let go for the rest of their walk.

* * *

It made sense that Tweek couldn't sleep that night due to such a disconcerting movie.

Horrible mutilations and unsettling dismemberments continued to replay over his head.

He had constant recurring nightmares as he woke up sweating at each hour.

He felt even more alarmed than before as the tree branch grazed his glass window.

Every creak of the floorboards or every moan uttered by the winds from outside sounded haunting and ominous.

Not even _coffee_ could do it for him at this moment.

…

…

… But he just couldn't bring himself to regret watching that movie with Craig.

Not in a lifetime.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Next update will be soon (hopefully).

Oh, and just to those who are curious, the movie "Allegory of the Damned," yeah… I just made it up. Please don't waste your time looking for such a disturbing movie – it's just a figment of my twisted imagination.

Read and review~ It'll make my world go round and round~


	9. Misunderstanding

Hey, Chapter Nine's up! Thanks for all the reviews. ;D

**MaxMizuhara **– I actually would appreciate if you did review on every chapter… Because I'll admit it – I like the attention – the nice comments which encourage me, the snappy critiques that develop my writing skills – They're _all_ wonderful~ It just kind of bugs me to know that not even one-tenth (yes, really) of my fav-ers (and don't even get me started on the reader-reviewer ratio) are willing to leave any form of review. Anyways, I'm rambling again... Thank you for the nice comment – I'm glad you found your phone and that you're starting to like Creek. Much love to you~ XD

**NOTE: **Sorry for the late updates. I'll only be able to update once per month due to technical complications as well as being busy with exams and whatnot. Hopefully, the lengths of each chapter will make it up, because I refuse to give up on this story~ _Love_ Creek!

**ADDITIONALLY, **my computer died unexpectedly and I had to rewrite this ENTIRE chapter on my laptop. Ugh, I hate technical difficulties. Tends to be _kind of_ inconvenient… XD

* * *

It's Tuesday morning and the sun isn't up yet.

Despite the contempt snores of everyone else in South Park, one particular blonde is already up and stretching. He hadn't slept a wink, but regardless of that, his muscles cramped under the rigid position he held throughout.

Now Tweek didn't enjoy taking showers right after getting out of bed. … But then again, he plain out didn't like showers.

From a young age, he was teasingly told by his parents that washing up with scented soaps and sponges would reduce the chance of gnomes tracking him down by the _smelliness _of his underwear. He eventually got the gist of it at age fourteen. Obviously, he was no longer as vulnerable or gullible, yet old habits die hard. He still bathed every day, each time in the morning (where it'd leave him at his cleanest for the entire duration of the day) no matter how much he disliked the timing.

Sure, it definitely stirred people awake, but the water was always freezing cold in the morning. And being a boy who rarely slept longer than three to five hours, Tweek _always _got up in the crack of dawn when the water pipes were frozen the most solid.

He steps out from the shower, his nose dripping and his lips quivering. "F-fuck…" After wringing his hair dry almost to the extent that it hurt, he awkwardly slid over to the sink, his tiled bathroom floor now a giant puddle. He fingers his eye bags, sighing at the dark color that would permanently stain his face unto death. He makes his way down and turned on the TV with a towel draped over his hair as he waited the rest of the morning to come flooding in.

His parents are down, the dining table set with porcelain dishes and crystal glasses when he wakes up. He awkwardly slouches over with his damp hair and takes a seat opposite his father. There are sounds of fizzing bacon on a fry pan as well as the "Ding!" of the toaster as the bread pops up.

After a quiet ten minutes fly by, he manages to murmur a shy: "Hey… Uh, Mom?" Tweek fiddles around with his fork, twirling the bacon in circles. After placing one slice of the oily pork strip into his mouth, he sips on his Café Frappe for refreshment.

"Yes, Tweek?" His mother answers; his father's head is also turned his way in curiosity. His father was seated across from him, sipping a black Americano whilst reading a newspaper; his mother washed the greased up frying pan.

"… I was wondering… Ngh, b-but is it normal to feel _jealous_ when a friend's dating a girl?" He doesn't make any eye contact, continuing to twiddle the bacon strips on the plate. His eggs, one sunny-side-up and the other fully cooked, remain untouched by his utensils.

His mother giggles as his father answers instead, "You know, I don't know if I've told you this already, but your mother was a _very_ attractive, young woman when I met her."

"Oh, _Richard _~" His mother coos, flapping her hand back and forth as she dismissed it.

Tweek narrows his eyes as his cheeks hollow out. _You DID tell me this already. … Multiple times._

His father chuckles heartily, "All the young men were after her. _But_ – she only had eyes for _me_."

"Oh-ho-ho…" She giggles as she wipes her hands into her apron and sits down. "It's true, you know."

"She was a _beauty_ and you know what?"

Tweek grumbles, "_What_?"

"She still _is_." They lightly peck each other on the lips with a lovesick smile.

The twitchy blonde is yet to be amused. Sadly enough, he had grown impervious to his parents' daily reminiscing about past romance. "… Okay? A-and then what?"

Slight pause. "Oh." Another pause. "_Well_, since she liked me, I was never jealous," his father mumbles before chewing on a bacon strip. "These are marvelous, honey." Still giggly, his mother pours syrup over her fifty percent fat-free Belgian waffles and continues to eat herself.

Tweek's eye begins to go into spasm as he waits for the rest of the story. His fingers tap over the wooden surface of the table impatiently while his free hand dangerously clutched unto the metal fork.

His father takes notice of his son's staring and looks back. "… _Oh_… Yeah. That's it." He shrugs carelessly at his son then continues to eat, unfazed.

Tweek's eyes widen before his eyelids contract into small tics. There is a long pause as only the clatter of silverware and fine china sound.

"… Pass the maple syrup, please?"

"ARGGGGG!" Tweek starts to smash his head repeatedly over the wooden surface. "Your stories NEVER go anywhere!" Smash, smash. "I hate it, I HATE IT!" Smash, smash.

"Oh Tweek, you're like a wood-pecker," his mother jokes.

His father gently sets the syrup bottle down, "You're denting the wood, son."

* * *

"Hey, Mom," Craig yawns as he makes his way down the stairs. His face is pale and drowsy looking with dark bags staining the bottom of his eyes and his hair an uncombed abomination; no shirt covers his shoulders, his chest, or torso, leaving him with a minor shiver despite just getting out of bed all toasty and warm. There are light indents of abs that develop across his lean, porcelain stomach with his black sweatpants dragging across the carpeted floor. His mother is seen tapping her foot idly as she sings along to the radio.

"You forgot to set your Alarm clock, Honey-Bunches-of-Oats…" She murmurs dangerously, facing the window. Her reflection can be seen staring back at Craig coldly.

"Yeah, I know," he uncaringly replies.

"Ruby told me that you forced your middle finger up her nose when I sent her to wake you." The dishes begin to squeak under the intensifying pressure she wipes with. They sound like a dying chalkboard.

"… I was just trying to flip her off. I didn't think I'd actually be picking her nose for snot," Craig grumbled, scratching his stomach idly. They turn slightly red under the friction.

Ruby is already seated across the TV with her father, both watching a tennis tournament with a large plate of pancakes and blueberries. Her plate is drowned in Maple Syrup, Aunt Jemima brand. "Oh, ha-ha, you actually gave me a _nosebleed_, you prick."

"Ruby, don't talk to your brother that way!" Her chubby father flips her off, his face stuffed with pancakes.

"He gave me a nosebleed! Do you _NOT _see the toilet paper forced up here?" She yells, her finger pointing to the bloodied napkin rolled up inside her left nostril.

"Oh," her father grumbled, facing back at the Tennis tournament. "– THAT WAS _SOOOOO _A FOOT FAULT!" He yells, standing up from his seat to point huffily at the screen.

Craig slaps himself in the face, "_Relax._ It's fucking tennis, not even for the Olympics."

"I happen to like tennis!" Ruby and Thomas Tucker yell back, causing Craig to cup his ears.

He monotonously grumbles, taking a plate and a double tower of pancakes to the table. "I swear, you inherited everything from Dad, Ruby."

Ruby flips him off. "Hey, I'm _not_ balding!"

"HEY!" His dad yells, bombarding his own daughter with the obscene finger gesture, the daughter performing the same gesture likewise.

Craig and his mother simultaneously sigh. He begins to slice the pancake into portions, melting butter over it and spreading it across the syrup evenly. He manages to get a piece into his mouth before the doorbell rings. "Huh?" He gets up.

"Mind getting the door, Cookie-Pants?" His mother sounds over the running water.

"Yeah, I already am," he replies. When he undoes the locks and clacks the door open, Lola is seen standing across from him on the doorstep. He immediately shivers at the cold contact of morning air.

"Oh, uh… H-Hello, Craig… I wanted to…" She's peering down at her boots, slowly making her eyes up before stumbling a foot back, "Oh, uh… Did I catch you at a bad time? I mean, uh…" Her face is brightly flushed as she tries to force her eyes up at his face. _OH GOD, OH GOD, He's shirtless! Stop staring down at him, Lola, stop it! _She whacks at her cheeks before deciding to turn her entire head to the right. "I-I was wondering if I could walk to the Bus Stop with you…"

Craig obliviously mumbles, "Doesn't your Mom drop you off?" He doesn't bother to move aside for her to come in, leaning lightly against the open door.

"U-uh, y-yeah… B-But, I wanted to try w-walking w-with y-you…" Her face continues to grow a shade redder each time.

_She's stuttering like Tweek on a caffeine-fueled day__._He cocks his head and twirls on his heel to grab his plate of breakfast. "… Alright," he leaves the door open, stuffing one entire pancake into his mouth off his plate and chewing noisily as he makes his way upstairs. Lola peevishly twirls her hair tips as Craig scrambles for his clothes and his backpack upstairs. His mother takes notice of her in the kitchen, and wipes her hands over her apron as she escorts Lola in.

His mother giggles, "My, my, what a cutie-patootie you are. Oh, Craig's such a rude boy, leaving you out on the freezing doorstep like that."

Lola flinches under the fabricated word _patootie. That's not in the dictionary… It shouldn't exist in the English language…NO, WAIT! This is your future Mother-in-Law talking… _"Ah, uh… It's fine. I love winter." She gives her a small smile.

"… Sweetheart, _everyone _in South Park has to somewhat like the season to live in a freezing ice cube like this," she scoots up a chair for Lola to sit in and proceeds back to the kitchen as Ruby and Thomas Tucker continue to mindlessly drool over the TV set.

Craig makes his way downstairs, sitting at the lowest step to tie on black, hiking boots. Lola immediately gets up from her seat, making it to his side enthusiastically like a lovesick puppy. The stoic raven peers up at her, "Let's go." He gets up to his feet, towering over her once more as he waves lazily to the rest of his family, "Have fun watching tennis –" He stares over to Ruby, who in turn, sticks her tongue out. He flicks the tip of his tongue back at her in half-assed retaliation. He faces back at his mother, "Bye, Mom."

His mother grins at her as Lola stares back with a blush. After seeing the two make their way out, she locks the door behind them.

Lola immediately starts up on conversation, her anxiety blatant. "Oh, I forgot to ask you! Ur, uh… Did you…" She clears her throat. "Did you do anything fun over the weekend?"

"Watched a movie," he answers curtly.

"Oh, what was the title of it?" She attempts a more full-fledged, in-depth, life-altering conversation straight out of a storybook. _Our talks always end in silence… Awkward, unfriendly silence… Not anymore! _Her eyes have a determined gleam to them as she plans out her strategy in her head.

"… Let me think…" He puts a finger to his chin as he ponders. Lola fawns over his focus before flinching when he snaps his fingers in remembrance. "_Allegory of the Damned._"

Lola's lovesick blush fades as fast as the strike of lightning in a rainstorm. "… Oh… That sounds… _Pleasant_?" She couldn't help but sound unsure and a bit disturbed.

He merely nods, the two continuing to walk at an even, delayed pace. He glances down at Lola when she takes his hand into hers once more. She clasps over it lovingly but his fingers remain stiff and unchanged. However, being in the dazed state she was, doesn't notice and merely leans into his shoulder. "… Stop clinging on me, it makes it hard to walk." He lightly tugs her off, wiping his hand over the thighs of his pants.

She catches it and holds back a wounded expression. _Maybe, my palms were sweaty… _They approach the bus stop and stand beside each other, the lovesick daze already faded from Lola. She looks on sharply ahead as Craig begins to doze off a little.

She gulps before speaking up, "… Are you – Are you sleepy, Craig?"

He yawns, his head pushing back as his neck bent, "I find it pointless to answer. You have eyes, don't you?"

"…" She looks as if she's on the verge of tears, being on the rather sensitive side. Lola didn't have much experience with boyfriends, and Craig being only her second one, she felt extremely attached as well as overtly responsive to each harsh statement.

Craig sighs, "I'm sorry. People say I've got a sharp tongue."

She immediately winces at the apology, looking remorseful herself. "N-No! People are wrong!" She whispers, "You're perfect… Craig."

Craig looks at her blankly, his stare riddled with a little bit of embarrassment at the blatant confession. "… Don't flatter me. I'm not so great."

"Uhm, no… I think you really are."

He nips his tongue, holding back a hiss. "I see."

"Ah – I'm sorry… I'm coming on too strong, aren't I?"

Craig faces her once more, "No." He scratches the back of his neck. "I didn't mind."

Her eyes widen as she feels a shiver go down her spine in elation. Reeling with encouragement at the statement, she blurts out: "On the ride there, will you – will you sit next to me?" She looks down at her feet, her toes wiggling around in anxiety in the insides of her shoes.

"I don't really mind, but Tweek usually sits next to me."

Lola winces at the name. She didn't exactly hate Tweek, but she would be lying if she said she didn't dislike him to some point. To her, Tweek was an obstacle in achieving her fairytale romance with the frost king, Craig Tucker. As much as she despised herself for the selfish thought, she wanted him out of her and Craig's life, for she could tell that Tweek held (poorly concealed) buried feelings for her boyfriend, which would sooner or later be risen out of the grave like that of a pestering zombie. "So… You won't be able to –?" She stays composed, despite her heart still being transparently worn out her sleeve.

"… I probably will, let me tell Tweek when he gets here."

Her heart skips a beat. "Y-yeah… Thanks…" _H-He chose me… Over Tweek._ "… If you don't mind me asking, what do you like about me?" She closes her eyes and waits for his response, as if awaiting a kiss to be planted across her lips.

_That was kind of random. _"… Well…" Craig thinks it over. "You're not like other girls. You're not so shallow that you'd just date me for that pointless bad boy shit."

She nervously laughs to herself. _Ha, yeah… OF COURSE NOT… _Despite that not being the entirety of her reason, it definitely fuelled the majority of her attraction to Craig. "Is there anything else you like about me?"

Craig wrinkles his lips together. _Uhm… Well… _"You're _cute_," he blurts out. The word doesn't sound very appropriate coming from him; in fact, it sounds outright gauche.

Lola forces down a "SQUEE!" _Ah… I never would've thought he felt any sort of attraction to me… _"Y-You're really cute too!"

Craig falters and stares a bit at her. _… I'm… What?_

"H-Hey, Craig."

She didn't have to turn around to recognize the voice. Lola smiles plaintively. It was Tweek. _Ugh, I was finally getting somewhere with Craig too._

"Hey," Craig answered back. The stoic raven brushes back his hair as he asks, "Hey, dude, you mind if I sit next to Lola today?"

"U-Ur…" Tweek swallows the stutter that was about to creep up. "It's cool… I'll sit next to Kevin for today."

Craig chuckles, "Kevin, the Star Wars fan – The one who went as Obi-Wan Kenobi last year for Halloween?"

"Yeah, why not?" He smiles himself, "Ngh, you were going to go as D-Darth Vader with Clyde as Luke Skywalker. You two were going to reenact the famous _I am your father _scene."

Lola looks on in distaste. _Craig likes Star Wars? Well… At least I learned something new about him… _However, she couldn't help but feel wounded that she had to learn a fact about her _own_ boyfriend from a third party source.

"Hey, Clyde was the one who said that. I _never_ agreed."

Tweek sniggers, "You were still forced into it…"

"Yeah… _After_ he got me drunk at the Halloween party… Fuck, he even brought the costume in preparation for that…"

Lola grows curious when Craig mentioned intoxication. _I-I wonder how he's like when he's under alcohol…_ She prods herself over the cheek. _I've never tasted any…_

Tweek snorts, "He pasted t-the helmet on with rubber cement. Agh – I remember you had trouble shampooing it off."

Craig whacks himself at his face for falling prey in Clyde's stupid prank. "Don't bring this up again."

Before Tweek added in any other comment, Lola joined in, "Ah, Annie's expecting you to be there for the double date after school today. All four of us will meet up, okay? Besides, you two only have a few days to become properly acquainted, you know – Before Heidi's party…"

Tweek twitches nervously, "H-Huh? _I'm_ invited to Heidi's party?"

"_Everyone_ is," Lola replied. She was eager to go, hoping that during the middle of it, friendships would dissolve and that things would finally heat up between her and Craig with his cold shoulder attitude. "We'll have a lot of fun…" She giggles a little in between. "I've always wondered how you danced." She giggles even more, gracefully gliding thin fingertips over her lips to muffle them.

Craig monotonously chuckles, sounding partially forced, "I don't think you'd ever want to."

Tweek momentarily glares over to Craig. _Geez, I'm not that bad… So what if I tripped over the punch bowl… Once… Or maybe twice… Or… Maybe it was three to five times? _Tweek's disorganized mind continues to ramble, seeping out of topic easily_. _"… Ah… A-Alright…"

"_Annie_ would love to see you dance. She told me you'd probably be a good break-dancer with those loose jeans and the wild hair," Lola giggles once more, a more flirtatious tone seeped in at the last sentence.

A light pink spreads across his cheek and the tips of his ears. _Gah, too much fucking pressure!_ "O-Okay… M-Man, god-damn it… Ngh, I'd probably just embarrass myself even more in front of her," he whined under his breath, entangling his wry fingers into the messy crop of hair.

Craig's eyebrows droop a little when he sees Tweek stutter over every single mention of Annie Faulk. _Hm, he must really like her._

When the two boys meet eyes with each other, the blonde quickly withdrew his gaze, feeling embarrassed.

Craig felt even more suspicious.

The three of them are eventually joined by Token.

"So, what'd I miss?"

* * *

Craig and Lola took a seat in the far back, much to the annoyance of Tweek and to the approval of Lola. She seemed rather happy to have the raven all to herself for once.

Token, although having usually sat beside Clyde on bus rides, chose to sit beside Tweek for the rest of it, having grown uncomprehendingly exasperated at the way Clyde and Kevin rambled on about Star Wars.

"Clyde, we have to reenact at least one scene from it on the coming Halloween," Kevin murmured enthusiastically, his obsidian eyes sparkling.

"Dude, where are we going to get light sabers this time? I broke mine since you hit against it so fucking hard last time…" Clyde grumbled, showing disdain at the last comment.

"… Don't get your panties in a twist, I said I'd pay for it," Kevin laughed playfully.

Clyde rolled his eyes, "Knowing you, you'll probably swap it out for the _gayest_ rainbow patterned light saber in the store."

Token adds in with a mocking voice, "Clyde, you'll already denouncing _all_ traits of manhood you've got left by playing with toy swords!"

Kenny chuckles from somewhere near, "Yeah, waving around light up _phallic_ symbols ain't the gruffest sport in the world."

Butters continued to look confused at the ensuing conversations. "I don't get it, what's the punch line?"

Kenny smacked himself over the face. "Fucking _dildos_, Butters. Giant, glowing _dildos _that you grab firmly for at the _hilt_," he grumbled.

Butters stared down at his lap. _What's a dildo?_

"Alv'ays penis jokes v'it Americans… Fucking _unoriginal_ perverts," Christophe mumbled from behind him. He sat with his legs up and his arms folded behind his head, occupying an entire seat selfishly to himself.

Kyle grumbles with a snort, "Yeah, and you're the one who laughed at the term _Morningwood _in Fable 3." Stan, who sat beside him, also laughed at that.

Token rolled his eyes once more at the idiocy. He looks back to Tweek who continued to suspiciously peer out the window for hostile gnomes. "Yo, Tweek, how's it going with Annie?" He attempts small talk.

"E-Eh?" The blonde snaps his head toward Token.

"_Annie_. How's it going with Annie? Your _girlfriend_?"

Tweek grumbles under his breath, "Ngh! W-What makes her my girlfriend? We haven't even gone out…"

Token chuckles. "Oh, I don't know… The fact that you agreed to date her?"

"Gah, you and Clyde are the one's who set me up with her – I-I'm not even into dating right now…"

He sighs. "She's a nice girl; you just avoid her too much…"

"W-Well… Ngh, C-Craig _did_ say that hiding behind a trash can _every_ time she walked over was unhealthy…"

Token shakes his head and speaks out, his tone laced with none-too-subtle sarcasm. "Oh, _no_… REALLY?"

Tweek frowns, detecting it. "I-I don't know… I just feel nervous talking to her."

"For real? What kind of nervous? Butterflies in your stomach nervous? Or the Stanley Marsh _I feel like I'm going to shit out my mouth _nervous?"

Stan grumbles, "_Hey_, I heard that."

Token laughs, Stan rolling his eyes and facing back toward Kyle.

"Ngh… Uhm, both…" Tweek answered unsurely.

Token sighs, "Look, you got to be smooth, man."

"Gah! Uh, smooth? Smooth like what?" The word _smooth _was entirely foreign to someone as _un_-smooth as Tweek.

"You open up to her, dumb-ass. You listen to her feelings; you tell her _your_ feelings, and BAM!" Token puts an arm over Tweek, moving his hand in an elegant sweeping motion before them. "You're one step closer to seeing the girl of your dreams in a G-string! She'll be crooning your name while fingering for you to come closer."

Tweek's eyes widen at the suggestive image. "… What? A… A-A G-string?" _M-My dream girl in a G-string? Uh… Uhm… _He holds back an embarrassing blush. "H-Hey, l-let's just change the topic…"

"I mean, c'mon… Even _Craig_ of all people seems to be treating girls better. You should hang out some more with Annie – Get to know her…"

Tweek didn't hear the last sentence, because as soon as Craig's name was mentioned, Tweek couldn't help but provide naughty nightmare fuel for himself. Craig was there in his head, dressed in nothing but said G-string and his signature Chullo hat. His abdomen exposed, pale skin flashing for all eyes to roam over. Mild traces of abdominal muscle developing over the lean, soft stomach. The boy trailing a seductive tongue over the strings of the hat, nibbling softly at the yarn before passing another lick over his lips – His eyes glazed over with animalistic lust as his mouth parted for a momentary pant – _OH FUCKING BULLSHIT SHITTING FUCKS! _Tweek immediately grabs violently at his hair, heavily intent on erasing such a perverted, disturbing (and unlikely) image from his thoughts. "Ngh, too much pressure!"

Token immediately grows alarmed, patting Tweek over the shoulder comfortingly, "UH, _DUDE_? You having another seizure?" He visibly scoots a small distance away from the unstable individual.

Tweek's once unadulterated mind had easily cracked into the very depths of the unmentionably horrid as he feebly pulled at his locks.

Unaware of what to say next, Token asks the most plausible question of it all. "Uh… Tweek. You need help… Uh, is there some _gnome_ nearby?"

A part of Tweek's soul drifted away as he found himself a little dead inside. If Tweek had thought Craig in a G-string was nightmare fuel, then a GNOME in a G-string was fire doused with ten gallons of gasoline, or better yet, _high octane_ nightmare fuel. The question had posed no such help, instead furthering Tweek's current predicament. "F-F-Fucking brain bleach, man! T-Too much pressure! Need CLOROX, DAMMIT!" The blonde foams at his mouth as he repeatedly slams into the seat to off himself of such a gruesome depiction of his number-one aversion. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA – AAAAHHH!" The bearded mouth of the gnome slowly puckered into a sticky kiss, saliva drooling off the ends of his beard. He whips out a stout, hairy leg before wantonly leering over at the semi-deceased blonde.

Token merely stared awestruck, his mouth contorted uneasily.

The blood-curdling scream reaches to the front, middle, and back of the bus, echoes constantly ricocheting off the walls for ten times the projection. He eventually collapses; his mind no longer able to fathom such an image. Poor old Tweek would be scarred for life, the image popping up every now and then.

The entire bus vaguely faces toward Tweek's direction, staring over at the wide-eyed Token who helplessly sat beside him.

Token merely shrugs with an inaudible murmur. He manages to voice out a: "Uh, I didn't do _anything_… Swear."

The bus remains quiet for a long time as everyone stares blankly ahead, having snapped wide open even from such a dreary morning.

A groggy, monotonous voice murmurs from the back. "Did he take his medication today?"

* * *

Tweek was practically a dead-weight when Token attempted to stir him awake. Having reached their stop, everyone had gotten off their bus, resuming to their daily morning schedule of going to their lockers, chatting with friends, and entering class as the bell rang.

Clyde and Craig were forced to stay once Token threatened them enough. Clyde whines about it being entirely Token's fault before he reluctantly bids goodbye to Kevin whilst Craig waved at Lola. She shyly put out her hands in front of her, Craig taking the hint and giving her a gentle embrace. She leans into it before smiling and walking away to meet up with her friends.

Once the bus was cleared, Token picked up all of their belongings and threw them out in a general direction, all four schoolbags landing unto the snow.

After multiple attempts at dragging the blonde off, Token gave up and tagged Clyde. The crazy bus lady shrieked for them to get off as Clyde pathetically attempted to drag him down by his shoes. "We're trying, lady, we're – FUCKING – trying!" Token and Clyde had unsuccessfully budged the blonde, having dropped him on the germ-infested metal floor of the bus. It seemed impossible to pull him up now that his body was stuck between the footing of the seat and the aisle.

Craig merely stood beside them, gaping languidly at the two struggling to pull the traumatized blonde off, whilst idly scratching the back of his neck now and then.

Token fell back on a seat, some sweat gathering at his brow. "Motherfucker's heavy… Shit!" He looks over to glare at Craig, who hadn't broken a sweat; never the less budged a finger. "Why don't _you_ help, Craig?"

"Because I'm not the _dick_ that knocked out the dude," he answered nonchalantly, as if it were a passable reply.

"You could at least help with the pulling!" Clyde whined.

Craig rolled his eyes. He slowly moved over to the seat, climbing over and grabbing under Tweek's arms to support him up. Clyde scrambled to the right of the seat to grab at Tweek's legs. The two managed to pull him up only to clumsily stumble off the bus. Token quickly limped down as the crooked bus lady slammed the bus doors closed.

Tweek lied face down on the snow as Clyde huffed at his side. Clyde, having immediately let go of the blonde as soon as they made it off the bus, made it so that Craig currently had both his hands weighed down by the blonde's body.

"Fingers are going numb," Craig grumbled as he attempted to pull himself free; currently, the thin layer of skin over his palm and fingers began to attach itself against the freezing wall of ice. "..."

Token suggested, "Dude, one of us should volunteer to carry the dude to the infirmary. I don't know, maybe his parents can drop that medication off."

Clyde, within earshot, straight away shoots up a hand as he screams: "NOT IT!"

Token looks taken aback before doing the same. "Not it!"

Craig glances at the two of them with a death glare. He hitches his chin up at the obvious sight before him. "In case you two didn't _fucking_ notice… My hands are _stuck_ underneath the corpse."

Clyde teases him. "Heh, it only comes to show that you were _fated_ to be the piggy-back ride for Tweek."

_Jackass. _"…" Craig silently fumed, attempting to haul his hands free before grumbling inconspicuously. _I would be flicking you off right now if they weren't weighed down like this. _"You're expecting to just leave me like this, asshole?"

Clyde grumbles, "You're the sissy who can't even pry his hands free from under an insomniac – one who lives solely off _coffee _for Pete's sake…"

"I would be doing just fine if you hadn't dropped hundred thirty plus pounds over my hands unexpectedly. _Think_, Clyde – I'm not wearing gloves. And my bare hands are squeezed over a layer of solid ice. What happens to your tongue when you put it against a Popsicle?" Craig patiently waits for the bulb to click in; disregarding the current pain his hands underwent as they slowly began to succumb to the cold temperature.

Clyde thought it over before the bulb officially lit up over his head. "_Oh_…"

A sigh escapes the grumpy raven, "Yes, Clyde. _Oh_."

Token sighs, "I'll do it. Geez, Clyde, at the speed you go at, Craig might've already gotten frostbite."

"Yeah, yeah, make _Clyde_ the butt of all the jokes," he sulked, crossing his arms.

After Token had rolled Tweek off, Craig bent forward and began to huff at his hands, hoping that the warm breath would ensure a painless removal. After some of the ice melted off from the palm, he pulled it up slowly from the surface, hissing at the unusual peeling sensation. He brushed aside mild trickles of blood over his jeans as he grabbed both of Tweek's arms to pull him unto his back.

Clyde laughs out loud at the awkward sight, pointing a rude finger at the increasingly agitated Craig. "Ha! Tweek's riding on you!"

Token winces at the words _riding on_.

"…" Craig silently rises up a flip of the finger toward Clyde before immediately withdrawing the arm back to support Tweek's weight.

Token scratches his head apologetically, "Yeah, he's surprisingly heavier than he looks, eh?" The tardy bell rings. "OH – SHIT! Didn't go to my locker yet! See you guys later!" He clutches his backpack and begins to run toward the halls.

Clyde explains, "Yeah… His Coach pressures him to get good attendance and straight A's and B's on all his classes."

Craig blinks twice, before budging his neck gently to the right to relocate Tweek's head on his back. "Clyde, you'd better get to class. I'll just get a pass from the nurse later."

"Cool, man. Talk to you soon," Clyde waves him off before rushing toward the halls himself. "Gotta' meet up with Heidi soon too."

Craig sighs before bending down at an uncomfortable angle to pick up the two schoolbags. He quickly hangs them over his neck before pulling Tweek's knees up. His black snow boots sink into the soft and pliable snow. He finds himself tripping over a small slab of rock near the front of the entrance, regaining balance as Tweek instinctively grabbed for the sweater's neckline. The stoic raven's eyes widen after the small trip, as well as peering his steely eyes over the cold arms that wrapped around him. _Tweek. _He forces back the smile that tried to creep up over his unfriendly face.

Craig takes his time, walking at a leisurely pace towards the Nurse's Office. After kicking at the door, maintaining balance on one wobbly leg, the door opened to reveal a gruff looking woman holding a syringe.

She eyes at the blonde before sighing and speaking in a vague, thick accent. "Panic attack? He left medication home for thousand times?" Her eyes droop as does Craig's. Tweek's panic attacks were a vicious cycle that continued throughout the presence as well as the absence of medications.

Craig chuckled at the familiarity Tweek's face upheld when it came to psychologists, counselors, and doctors. Almost all of them were able to recognize the blonde for at least one mental problem. He would exhibit signs of countless illnesses – Whether it be ADD (disability to focus in classes), gnomophobia (self-explanatory), Tourette Syndrome (for the frequent outbursts of repetitive catchphrases and twitching, although this diagnosis was very brief and later proven as false), kleptomania and vandalism (Tweek stole garden gnomes from the neighboring lawns and would smash them to chunks with a hammer in his backyard), traits of antisocial behavior and schizophrenia (constant delusions of nonexistent gnomes as well as the belief that certain people of South Park were gnomes in disguise), and lastly, underwear obsession (also self-explanatory).

She sighed, stepping to the side before escorting them into a nearby bed. "Lay him down here. You need me write a note for your tardy?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "I write for you a note for tardy, wait a while." She shuffles over to her desk before taking out a thick file labeled "Tweak, Tweek." She begins to dial at a number scribbled on one of its loose papers.

As she waited for his parents to pick up, Craig set down Tweek's limp body over the snow-white sheets of the bed. Craig sits his ass down on a rolling chair before unhooking the heavy backpacks from his neck. He uncomfortably cracks his aching, stiff back before glancing over to the snoring, drooling, and ultimately, unconscious Tweek. He brushes the bangs back, lightly trailing a bloody hand over the dark bags the blonde possessed.

Tweek lightly snorts under the touch, burrowing his cold face into the warmth of the pillow.

Craig emotionlessly stares as he withdraws his hand back to the side. "…" He checks the time on his cell phone. _Fourteen minutes late. _Sighing, he takes a blanket and spreads it over the shivering blonde.

Tweek's face visibly relaxes as he moves further beneath the covers. "Nnn… F-Fucking gnomes…"

The stoic raven stares unblinkingly as he settles comfortably back on the seat. He hisses at the reddening palms, stinging from the overexposure to the snow as well as the bloody thin layer of skin. He stubbornly licks the tiny droplets of blood before wiping them once more over the course texture of his jeans.

Tweek suddenly jerks under the cover, Craig being caught off guard.

"Hm?" He hovers over the blonde, the strings of his Chullo hat brushing over Tweek's face. The blonde murmurs something lowly, shaking his head in his sleep. As the space between the two gradually lessened, Craig could notice that Tweek's breathing rate was quickening. Curious, Craig placed a warm hand over the chest of Tweek, feeling for the heartbeat. _It's really fast… _He removes the hand and stands up. _What's he dreaming about? _

Tweek changes his sleeping position once more, lying down flatly on his back. His face looks toward the ceiling.

Having caught Craig's attention once more, the stoic raven bends forward. His bloody palms support him on both sides of Tweek as his face directly floated in front. Small drops of blood begin to stain at both sides of Tweek's pillow. Narrowing his eyes and eventually leaning in, Craig pressed his lips toward the cheek of the sleeping Tweek. It makes a small sound as the lips briefly touch against the skin. Drawing back, he realizes that Tweek slept like a rock when he so rarely did. After a few seconds of staring sharply at the boy, he leans in again. Craig's soft lips brush over Tweek's cold ones, parting to nibble on the lower lip of Tweek.

The blonde stirs a little, reciprocating the action by parting his mouth lightly. Craig doesn't force his tongue in, instead teasingly tracing the tip around the inner border of Tweek's mouth. He gently tugs a tongue over the lower lip, biting the soft flesh. His head presses in, kissing Tweek deeply. Drawing back a second time, Craig breathes slowly, taking in short and silent mouthfuls of air. _W-What am I doing? I'm dating Lola now…_

Tweek breathes in and out quietly, a minor pant noticeable in his breathing pattern.

_But he's – _The raven clasps his right hand over the corresponding cheek of Tweek's. He unhurriedly moves it down, tugging down the neckline enough to expose the blonde's collarbone. Honing his head in at a angle, he chastely kisses the neck, opening his mouth to tenderly suck. He swivels his tongue around the place, before dipping a tongue into the small plunge of the neck. It incites a small moan from Tweek, who unconsciously smacks his lips together as if having tasted something delicious. His breathing halts for a while as he whispers: "… _Annie_…"

Craig immediately pauses dead in spot. His striking yellow eyes go a dead bronze color as his face maintains his callousness. He quickly pushes back up to stand on his two feet. His eyes stay wide open as he stares emptily to the white wall in front of him. Craig _almost_ looked miserable with his eyebrows slanted outward. "…" He turns on his heel to leave.

He didn't bother getting the note from the nurse, choosing to quietly close the door behind him.

* * *

"_A-Annie, what the fuck are you doing in a G-string?" Tweek asked, his voice exasperated as he tried to comprehend the current situation._

_The blonde gradually opens her eyes as she snaps her head indignantly toward him. "I told you – I want you to take your dashing unicorn and plunge it into my rainbow crevice!" _

"_Ngh – W-What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean?" He takes a step back as Annie continued to lie across over the sofa of the teachers' lounge._

_She begins to yell at him with a baton. "Basic algebra, Tweek! What does two plus two equal?"_

"_U-Uh… U-UH… FOUR? It's four, right? A-And where did that baton come out from?"_

"_YOU – IDIOT! The answer is FISH! But never mind that, young one! You must defeat Ganondorf!"_

"_HUH? W-What does Legend of Zelda have to do with you wearing a G-string?"_

"_NEVER MIND MY UNDERGARMENTS! The ultimate weapon to defeating Ganondorf is the Bumble Dwarf! You can obtain the unique item throughout the entire Florgian Empire by conversing with the nine Cauliflower Fairies!"_

_Tweek thinks it over before grumbling in confusion. "W-What? WHAT?"_

_Annie continues to yell at him, and as she does, she begins to morph into a fat blob._

"_H-HUH? Cartman?"_

_Annie begins to chuckle in a low, ominous voice as her face begins to fuse into something disconcerting. "No, you FOOLISH FOOL. I am…"_

_Tweek had managed to back up against a dead end of a wall as "Annie" continued to stomp forward, her height growing to frightening measures._

"_I AM…"Her face blending into one that vaguely resembled a lawn gnome._

_Unable to think up any plausible answer, Tweek merely blurted out a typical Star Wars reference, "GAH! U-Uh, Father? You're my f-father?"_

_There is a long pause as "Annie" begins to chuckle throatily, her voice plunging extremely low. "… I AM… YO' MUZZAH!"_

_As Tweek fell to his knees screaming at the revelation, she continued to laugh._

_A record scratch is heard, disrupting the entire atmosphere. It goes completely white as Craig stood beside him. _

_Tweek was completely lost, "H-Huh? What are YOU doing here?"_

_The stoic raven ignored his question, instead facing the blob that continued to face Tweek in freeze-frame. "… Hey, can I have some Ketchup on this steak?"_

Tweek fell off the infirmary bed, continuing to squirm in horrid, jerky spasms. "GYAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His eyes snap open. "Huh?" He sits up, glancing about him. "O-Oh…" _Man, that was a nightmare… It's pretty weird how you never know it's a dream until you wake up… _Rubbing at the back of his head, he pulls up the blanket to put back over the bed. He flinches when he sees the sides of his pillow. He picks it up and takes notice of the small trickles of blood that stained the white cloth. "Ngh – Did I bleed or something?" He smacks his lip, flinching when he feels the traces of breezy mint on his tongue.

_It…_

_It tastes like Craig._

* * *

Craig is slightly more detached than usual, however Clyde seems as enthusiastic as ever in teasing Craig.

"You mother-fucking ladies' man! Lola came to _your_ house in the morning? Ha-ha!" Clyde seems to be cackling noiselessly, constantly pestering his friend with friendly jabs at the waist. Token stands beside him, slurping out from a tiny juice box. The three are proceeding down a hall of matching lockers, a yellow-orange hue shining in from the narrow windows.

"Shut the hell up. She came at her own will," Craig grumbled, shoving the other's fingers off to no avail. "_God_, cut it off…"

He continues to poke at the cranky boy's ribcage, "And that's what's so fucking impressive – Usually, the dudes chase after the babes, but man! You've got Lola – the girl who's been telling every guy to _piss off _ever since she's grown TA-TAs – _eating_ out of the palms of your hands!"

Craig rolls his eyes as Token shakes his head in discontent.

"C'mon! Am I the only who finds this so amazingly ironic that it's funny – The feminist Lit chick falling head over heels and embodying every girly stereotype over this one dude?" Clyde's eyes are still watering from laughing so hard.

"You have a weird sense of humor," the raven mumbled unemotionally.

Token taunts the brunette, nodding with Craig, "Wow, Clyde, and you _wonder_ why you've been turning off people ever since you were born."

"Oh, shut up…" The brunette grumbled, no longer in hysterics. "For your information, my sex-appeal turns people on just fine –"

"Pfft, what sex-appeal – You couldn't even get Jenny Friedman to say yes…" Token murmured. "And she says yes to _anything _that moves…" He shivers in disgust to add salt over open wounds.

Clyde looks on indignantly, "She was _taken_! Besides, that's a blonde not even _I'll_ do…"

"Like hell she is," Craig muttered, still maintaining his impassiveness. "If they're blonde and alive – they're a keeper." _Everyone _knew about Clyde's blonde fetish ever since he dated Bebe on and off since childhood.

Token cackles and high-fives Craig, chuckling darkly at the downed Clyde. _Blonde-fetish boy_ mutters: "Way to kill a guy's mood, dudes."

Tweek approaches them with a small wave, "H-Hey."

"Better from your freak out this morning, Sleeping Beauty?" Token chuckled.

Tweek nods dizzily, clutching his head to maintain balance afterward. "… Ngh… I guess so; fucking headache's killing me though."

"H-Hey, Annie's _blonde_, Clyde~" Token laughs.

Clyde rolls his eyes, "Bro Code, man. You _never _go for the taken babes – Leads to some _nasty _confrontations."

"Oh-ho, you talk as if you've already tried out a bunch of forbidden fruits."

Clyde sneers back to Token, "Heh, I've done my fair share, man. Even managed to have two girls fight over me at one point…"

"D-Damn… Did they _really_, Clyde?" Tweek asked skeptically. _Clyde's also done his fair share of tall tales._

"Yep!" Clyde proudly exclaimed. "But you know… It's not as cool as it sounds… There was a _lot_ of drama about it; think once in a lifetime is enough for me."

"Once in a lifetime is probably the most you'll get," Token laughed, Tweek snorting shortly after.

Clyde shrugs as he chuckles, "C'mon, I respect the ladies. I'd never go for the taken babes ever again after how it ended up."

Craig snorts, "Says the guy who couldn't get over how hot the ensuing cat fight was."

Clyde laughs before slapping his friend across the back. Token also joins in.

As the lively conversation went on, Tweek couldn't help but continue to exchange uncomfortable glances with Craig. The blonde peered down at the ground momentarily before his hand traced the outline of his collarbone. _It feels all hot… _He clasps a hand around his neck, feeling around it to feel a thin coating of water_._

* * *

By God, I am dragging this on for SO LONG! I really apologize… Next chapter will include a hit in the face, a double date, and really lame jokes. XD


	10. Understood

Sorry for the late update! XD Enjoy the chapter!

**NOTE:** I'm getting a bit annoyed at the PM I've received (not the lovely reviews, just a private message I've gotten), detailing how I should revise the chapters to _write out_ Lola and Annie since I'm _resorting _to a (and I quote) "_stupid, over-rated, fucking high school drama shit-cake_." They implied automatically that I'd be pairing Craig with Lola and Tweek with Annie in the end. … This is a Creek fic, as in Craig x Tweek, as in TWO DUDES.

Now, to address the PM-er anonymously out of _respect_ (You know who you are!) … _Thanks_. NO. Really, thanks. *obvious sarcasm* Now I'd be less offended if they would have just phrased it a bit nicer. Anyways, you have my reply, PM-er.

Now, I've received a similar review (which by no way, was as offensive as the PM), and I'd like to address that I am _not _writing a tragedy.

Yes, my plot points are clichéd but hey, I need to add some kind of scheme, some kind of problem to keep the characters running until some epic climax. The categories for this fan fic are Romance/Friendship. Don't worry – It's pretty obvious what kind of ending I'll be giving this story! ;D Because, you know, I'm a Creek fan too.

* * *

The bell rang for Gym time and all the boys began to gather near the door to the locker room to change into their workout clothes. Once the doors opened, a small stampede formed as restless students rushed in, carelessly stepping over others' shoes.

Craig _hated _P.E.

The way sweaty shoulders slapped against his in narrow spaces between rows of lockers, the way a bunch of meat-heads would go out hooting the score, bitching out whenever their side was losing – Craig hated it all. So it was no surprise that he often played hooky this period, rarely coming in for attendance.

"Ha – _Dick_ Tucker's _coming_ inside for once," Cartman laughs at his witty innuendo. **(NOTE: Think of that line in the naughtiest way possible – There are two things you should look out for and maybe you'll get what Cartman's insinuating.)**

"Took you long to think that one up, fat-ass?" Craig asked with a bored expression, slipping off his hat and blue sweater with one hand as the other flipped Cartman the bird.

As the morbidly obese Cartman begin to stomp away, Tweek merely sat on the bench, his arms resting over his knees. His back is slightly hunched forward as his head continued to hang limply, being a little tired for once. "Ngh, c-can you give me some change for a five? N-Need a fucking coffee…" Tweek muttered.

Craig, in all his shirtless glory, set down his sweater over the bench and began to search in his backpack for his wallet. His locker was on the bottom row, Craig having to lean down due to his height. His hat falls to the floor, Craig muttering in mild distaste. When he bent over to pick it up, Tweek couldn't help but stare at the way the flesh stretched accordingly to each muscle's movements. Craig was tall and somewhat gangly, his stomach being lean and pale with faint dips around the abdominal region. His obsidian hair was swept back in a disheveled manner, the bangs framing his callous face appropriately. When he straightened his back, clutching his hat in his hands, he caught Tweek staring at him, "What?"

It took Tweek a while to realize Craig was talking to him, "H-Huh? Gah, w-what did you say?"

He stares emotionlessly before facing away and shaking his head, "… Never mind," Craig continues to search in his backpack for the wallet, his hat flung over his bare shoulder. He slips out five individual dollar bills from it, handing it over to Tweek, who in turned handed him a five dollar bill from the pocket of his sweatpants.

"Ack – S-See you in the soccer field, Craig," Tweek said as he dashed away to the nearest coffee machine. Craig changed into his P.E. clothes. Slipping his blue sweater back over his shirt, he sauntered out, meeting up with familiar faces.

Kyle approached, "Hey dude, looking as grumpy as always."

Craig ignores the statement, merely giving him a small glance of acknowledgement. He walks over to the bleachers to sit comfortably. He burrows his hands deep into his pockets before leaning back comfortably unto the seat behind him. His eyes begin to droop before shutting completely. _A little nap can't hurt._

Stan jogs into the field, huffing and puffing out of exhaustion.

Kyle furrows his eyebrows, "How the hell did you make it here? Don't you have some big test today?"

Stan holds up a hand to stop the redhead from questioning any further. A hand perches over his knee as he takes a breather. "Skipped… Class. Substitute. Didn't see me… Leave. Test… Moved for tomorrow; But never mind that, we playing soccer?" He stands with his back straight and a playful smile across his face.

"Eh, maybe," Kyle shrugs. Pulling out the ball from under the bleachers, he passes it to Stan, who eagerly begins to juggle the ball on his feet.

Cartman eventually walks into the field, the P.E. clothes clinging a little too tightly to his wide torso. He seems slightly out of breath. "Having fun juggling balls on your feet, Marsh?"

Stan doesn't reply in time, the red-head immediately lunging in to defend his best friend, "Shut the fuck up, Cartman, you're just annoyed you suck at every sport known to man."

Cartman screamed back at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Jew-Fart, just who was the one who destroyed your ass in hockey?"

"… Dumb-ass, that was _table _hockey," Kyle retorted, rolling his eyes afterward.

Cartman chokes back at the correction before pointing a finger at the Jew, "W-Well, _still_ called hockey, you motherfucking Jew!"

Stan slapped Cartman upside the head, "Chill, dude. Do we have enough players for a game?"

Kyle uneasily scratches at his arm, "Jimmy's really enthusiastic about being goalie… Christophe, Jason, Dog Poo, Kevin, and Damien are in… And Pip's currently washing off toilet water from his hair in the bathroom."

"Another swirlie?"

"Yeah, poor dude. I don't know if he'll make it in time though."

Stan nods in understanding before squinting his eyes fervently at a small realization, "… Wait… _Dog Poo_?"

Kyle answers normally, "… Well yeah, the kid?"

"The fuck? His parents named him Dog Poo?"

"… Yeah, I don't know, man. All I really know 'bout the dude is that he doesn't bathe," he shrugs.

Stan nods a second time, "… What about Craig and Tweek, are they playing?"

"Tweek isn't here yet. I'll ask Craig first," Kyle turns toward Craig before shouting out, his palms cupped beside his mouth to further escalate his volume. "Hey, you playing, Tucker?"

Craig's eyes snap open as he mildly growls. He sits up, his arms floppy at his sides. "… What?"

"I said – YOU PLAYING?"

Craig makes a half-assed attempt to shout back, "Playing _what_?"

Kyle makes an "Are you serious?" face, "What the fuck do you think? We're in a _SOCCER _field with a _SOCCER_ ball!"

_Like hell if I'll play. _Craig blinks once then twice before laying back down, his arms utilized as pillows. He had successfully ignored Kyle and Stan for the millionth time.

Kyle mumbled, "Suit yourself." He turns back toward Stan, "Yeah, I don't think Mr. PMS is playing, Stan."

Cartman yells back at Tucker, "Hey, waiting for your boyfriend?"

Tucker shoots up an arm from the bleachers.

Right when he's about to flick him his signature finger, Cartman threatens, "Don't you dare think about flipping me off, asshole!"

Craig sits up, "Dude, it's me… And it's _you_. Of_ course _I'll flip you off." He puts up the finger, waving it half-heartedly side to side to annoy the fat boy.

Stan and Kyle roll their eyes, facing toward Tweek when he comes stumbling in with a cup of coffee. The single cup is stacked over several empty cups of coffee. His sleeves are slightly damp from spilling some of the liquid. "A-Am I late?"

Kyle smiles at the possibility of another member, "Nah, you playing then?"

"U-Uh, sure – No score, right?" Tweek asked before lapping furiously at his burning hand. _Too much pressure when there are points involved…_

"Uh-huh, it's all for fun," Stan smirked. "No pressure."

Tweek grimaces. _Hate it when people say that; adds more pressure. _"S-So who's on whose side?"

Kyle sighs, "I _highly_ doubt anyone would voluntarily _choose_ to be on Cartman's –"

Cartman chimes in, "HEY!"

* * *

As the boys continue to play a match of soccer, Craig merely sat accompanying a bored and peevish looking Gregory. He continued reading a thick book, uninterested in the world around him; much like Craig was at many points in life. Craig sighs before staring at the open sky over him.

Tweek was currently dying. Although Tweek had voluntarily joined the game, his legs were easily cramping under him as he ran vigorously for the soccer ball. The other guys continued to aggressively scramble for the ball, naturally shoving aside the anxious blonde. _TOO – MUCH – PRESSURE! _Momentarily stepping out from the game, he panted for his breath, dizziness gradually releasing its grip on him as oxygen rushed back into his lungs. "Gah… Tired…"

As Tweek took a breather, Cartman accidentally kicked the ball out of bounds, toward Tweek. Tweek ducks in time, the ball instead flying to the bleachers, "Ah – FUCK!"

"Nice going, fat one…" Damien muttered under his breath, "We finally had a game going too."

Feeling wounded, Cartman thrust a hand up toward the bleachers, "Lazy asses! We can just get –" His voice goes quiet when the soccer ball is seen flying toward the non-participants.

Tweek spins around, yelling at Craig, "Ngh! D-Dude, heads up! CRAIG!"

Craig sits up, extremely annoyed at being disturbed from rest once more. "Look, fuckers, I don't –"

Despite the warning, the soccer ball smacks straight unto his face. A split second later, Cartman could be heard laughing maliciously, falling back on his butt. "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha – _POW_! Right in the kisser!"

"… Oh geez, great going, lard-ass," Kyle muttered.

Tweek and Kevin stumble up the seats to see Craig looking the same as he's always looked: unfazed. Gregory peers over before turning back to his book.

Craig lies flat on his back with a red mark over his left cheek. "Ugh… What was that, a brick?"

Kevin offers a hand to pull him up, "Cartman kicked it out of bounds. You okay?" Craig lightly pushes the hand, clutching on to his aching forehead.

Craig looks dumbfound at the pointless question, "… I got hit in the face with a soccer ball." _What the hell does he expect me to answer?_

Kevin seems oblivious, "… I _know_. Are you feeling alright?"

Craig shakes his head, "_Peachy_." The insides of his head are painfully pulsing, Craig attempting to fight back the migraine.

"Want me to take you to the Nurse's office?" Kevin suggested.

Craig's head droops down for a second before he groans, "Mm… I think I'll be fine." When he stares back up, his gaze is a bit unfocused; Tweek's mouth practically drops to the floor as Kevin winces. The stoic raven looks at them confused, "What?"

"Uh… Dude… Nosebleed."

Craig slides a hand from under his nostrils. A warm oozing substance is running from it. "… Fuck. That's a…" He snorts. "… Lot."

Kevin giggles, "Kool-Aid, the blood resembles."

Tweek smacks his hand over his face as Craig grumbles at the lame joke. He rolls his eyes, "Nice contribution, Yoda." He continues to wipe at the blood as he snorts in the rest. Kevin goes back down with the soccer ball to the other guys as Tweek continues to stand before a stubborn Craig.

Craig pulls at his lip. "Damn… Nipped it with my teeth – Fucking Cartman…"

The blonde winces at the sight of crimson blood, "D-Dude, stop that. Ugh, f-fucking gross…"

Craig stares blankly as he resorts back to his wipe and snort method at the blood that freely ran down from his nostrils.

Tweek winces a second time before suggesting: "Gah! I'll take you to the b-bathroom."

"You don't need to, I can take care of myself," he grumbled as he walked away, the cloth continuously rubbing up against under his nose.

Tweek stands there with his mouth wide open for a second before stomping after him. "Gah – Don't be such a b-bitch, man." He wasn't that spineless.

"I _have_ to be a bitch since I'm getting hurt or in trouble all the time."

"… Ngh, what's your fucking problem? C-Cartman kicked the ball, not me!"

Craig turns around to face the blonde, the two strings from his hat whipping across his neck in a one hundred and eighty degree motion. "I've been reduced to a _fucking_ punching bag since I've talked with _you_."

"Gah! D-Don't pin your problems on me, _asshole_!"

"Fuck you, Tweek." He flips the blonde off.

The blonde shakes his head, "_No_, fuck _you_."

"I said, fuck _you_," with that, Craig turns on his heel to walk away from the situation.

… But Tweek wasn't done _yet_. "Fuck you, Craig, I _know_ what I said!"

Craig's ears twitch. He turns around to flip him off with both hands, "Fuck your _face_."

Tweek childishly sticks out his tongue, "Ngh – Fuck _your_ face."

"Fuck your coffee."

"Fuck Red Racer."

Craig's voice drastically increases in volume and tone, "… Fuck Harbucks!"

Tweek lashes out with his fist, "… Fuck your guinea pig! F-Fuck _Stripe_!"

Tweek and Craig stare eye to eye, Craig looking extra emotionally withdrawn whilst Tweek's eyes were wide and annoyed. The two crack their fists simultaneously.

* * *

From far off, two large smacks can be heard.

Cartman rests his legs off on a bench, "What the fuck was that sound?"

Stan mutters, also catching his breath, "Hmm, I didn't hear anything."

Kyle sniggers, "Probably the bench the bench dying from under your weight, Cartman…"

"HEY!"

* * *

Craig and Tweek sit exhausted after changing out of their P.E. clothes. A single, widespread bruise decorates the pale cheek of Craig's, whilst a purpling red decorates Tweek's. There's a small wad of tissue forced up the stoic raven's nostril. The two seem noticeably more relaxed from their previous tension.

They had been waiting at their lockers, seated over the stained tiles of the school hallway for quite some time. Both their faces match their boredom as they waited for their particular dates to show up.

"I-I shouldn't have pried… Eh, s-sorry," Tweek muttered, resting a twitchy hand over Craig's shoulder.

Craig stays still under the touch, and Tweek is encouraged to move it up and down in a consoling rubbing motion. "… Sorry my ass," Craig grumbled. With that, Tweek removes the hand and places it back over his own thigh.

The blonde wisely changes the topic, "… Uhm… Uh… So how's it going with Lola?" He adds a nervous laugh afterward, one that uncomfortably dies off, "Eh-heh… Heh…"

"… She's getting clingy."

Tweek nods, "… Oh. Okay…"

An awkward silence passes.

Tweek scratches his scalp, "… Uh, d-do you like having a girlfriend?"

"… No," he answers candidly.

"… Then w-why'd you say yes?"

"… Because," he narrows his eyes. "She wrote me that note."

_H-He's narrowing his eyes! T-Too much pressure! _"Wait…" _What note? _"…" _– Oh, that note._

"It was mushy, clichéd, and desperate."

A stab hits violently at Tweek's chest.

"… It sounded pretty _pathetic_."

Tweek gulps hard. _Th-Thank God I didn't give it to him… _"D-Don't be so harsh…"

Craig slyly looks over, "What's wrong? It's not like _you_ wrote it."

"Agh, b-but still… You're sounding d-dick-ish."

"… I'm sorry," he apologized, sounding insincere but being genuine. "I'm kind of an asshole." The statement is muttered unashamedly yet self-loathingly.

_Yeah. _Nibbling on his lips, Tweek waves his hands in disagreement, "N-Naw, dude – You're –!"

Craig continued on, "Nobody really said any of that kind of stuff to me before..." He whispers, "So I said _okay_."

Tweek's head raises back up. There's an eternity of silence that envelops him before he gets the courage to speak once more; he stares over at the floor while fidgeting his words, "… D-Do you like her?"

Craig was short and blunt. "… I'm not sure." He pauses to think a little more, sliding a tongue over his lips. "She's a lot nicer and smarter than most the girls I've dated."

Tweek's heart sinks a little.

He looks over to Tweek. "You and Annie?"

"Ngh – Uhm – I-I haven't been on a date for – Ngh – Months now so… I can't tell."

Craig raises an eyebrow in minor disbelief, "You've dated _plenty_, Tweek."

A groan escapes, "I d-didn't really want to do any of this dating stuff from the beginning…"

"Relax, it's a double date. It can't be that bad," he callously dismisses the statement.

Tweek purses his lip. "… Aren't you n-n-nervous?"

Short and brief like always, "… No."

He got a bit frustrated. "W-Well, why not, man? Don't girls – Gah – Freak you out too?"

Craig contemplates over his choice of wording. _Oh, to hell with it. _He blatantly admits, "… They're kind of annoying. But then again –" He takes a breath, "So are _most_ people. Chicks, dudes, they're _all_ overrated."

Tweek rises up his knees to his stomach, the soles of his Converse raking across the muck on the floor. "…" Tweek buries his face into the pointed bones of his knees, his blonde hair a horrid mess on his scalp.

Craig leans in, "What?"

"… Uhm, a-am I annoying?" Tweek asks, flustered.

There's no delay to the answer, "Yeah. You _really_ are."

Tweek feels his heartbeat nearly halt in distress. _I-I shouldn't have asked._

Craig turns to him, and Tweek looks up to meet him eye to eye. He brushes some of the blood off Tweek's face. "I hit you kind of hard."

And with that gentle caress, Tweek swallows down the small sigh of relief that crept up his throat, "Y-Yeah… You sure did, dude."

"… You did too," he brusquely muttered. He moves the hand down to trace his shoulder. Tweek feels ticklish under the soft touch. He moves it down to the elbow, to the wrist, and wraps a hand around Tweek's. "You're _really_ annoying," he whispered huskily.

Tweek grumbles with a wrinkling brow, "I-I think we accomplished that, Craig."

"… It's a compliment."

He was naïve, but not enough to confuse an insult with praise. "… How?"

"Not a lot of things annoy me. I'm not _annoyed_ at things. I outright _hate_ them."

Tweek stresses his brow. "… W-What the fuck does that – Gah – Mean?" _That he hates me?_

He tediously explains, "I hate life. I'd punch it in the face if it had one. I hate Cartman. I'd kill him if I had the chance to get away with murder –"

"Why d-don't you?"

"… Hmm. Too much trouble."

"…"

He sighs and leans back over the locker. "People say I'm not too good expressing myself," he pauses a bit after. "What I'm saying is… You're annoying but… I don't… _Hate_ you." He coughs into his hand.

Tweek felt happy but confused all at the same time. _That's a weird way to phrase it. _He dropped his gaze and swallowed his accumulating spit down. "I get it."

Craig smiles faintly as he looks ahead at the colorful row of lockers in front of him, "… You really understand what I mean?"

Tweek furrows his brow as he bumps his head back down over the locker behind him. _Not one bit. _"Yeah."

* * *

Lola and Annie are walking over hand in hand before Lola detached hers to skip over to the grumpy looking duo seated across on the floor. Tweek was on his third cup of coffee whilst Craig was half asleep. "Did you guys wait long?" She asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "What were you doing?" Craig asked with some strain in his now groggy voice.

"Sorry! Annie and I signed up for swim this semester. It took a little long to do the rinse-off shower afterwards," she answered. Annie was looking a little embarrassed at her side, silently clutching both hands together as small drops of water from her hair dropped to her shirt.

Tweek and Craig push off the floor.

* * *

As dusk gradually draws closer, the buildings around them begin to glow a nauseating color. Lola and Annie are seen giggling beside their respective boyfriends, the four marching their way toward the restaurant. Craig is looking off bored and dazed as Tweek is seen anxiously sipping on a freshly purchased coffee.

"This'll be fun. I've never gone on a double date before…" Lola confessed.

Tweek blinks twice, "Ngh, really?"

"Uh-huh… My parents are real conservative… They even give me a curfew."

Annie giggles, "That's not too bad… But then again, that just means they're protective."

Lola groans, "Protective? More like they're babying me… I sometimes wish they'd give me more freedom."

"I think people are better with some restraint," Craig coolly added. Lola immediately reacts with a fawn as Annie pouts bitterly.

Annie shyly pulls a curly bang behind her ear. "Well, Lola will get to live a little at the party… Your parents will let you stay over my house for the night, right?" She giggles, lightly tapping Lola on the side.

"Of course! It'll be like old times," Lola sweetly replied.

Annie blushes happily. Her hair bounces childishly with each step, the playful girl skipping ahead in front of them; she flashes a grin at Tweek who immediately chokes at his drink – she immediately drops her smile. Quickly enough, she shakes her uneasiness off, "C'mon, let's move faster – I'm feeling kind of hungry."

Lola takes Craig's hand into hers, shyly gazing up at him. "Yeah… I'm craving some pasta… How about you?"

_I'm broke. _Craig answers honestly, "I'll get the cheapest thing on the menu."

The girl winces and sweats a little at her brow. "O-Okay…"

Tweek looks on at Lola. _Wow, she's actually displeased with him…_

The brunette continues on dreamily, "… You're so aware of the economy. So considerate of your parents' paycheck…"

Tweek looks baffled. _Wow. _He quietly stares at the lovesick girl that clung to his friend's arm, sighing a little. _Man... My appetite's gone._

Annie quietly analyzes Tweek's stare from beside him.

* * *

Tweek and Craig sit across from each other, reminded once more of their recent hang-out. Lola and Annie sit on their respective sides. "Heidi recommended this place to me… I heard it's the best Italian food offered in South Park." Lola gently unwinds her dinner cloth, spreading it across her lap.

Tweek awkwardly fumbles with it, dropping it on the floor as well as smashing in his head when he ducks down to retrieve it. "O-Ouch…" He hisses. After spreading it across his lap, he drops it a second time, the cloth slipping down between his legs. Whilst ducking down a second time, he smashed his head against the bottom of the table again, Annie giggling for both times when it occurred. Fed up with his klutziness, he shoves the cloth down his chest, utilizing it as a secondhand bib. Craig himself also smirks at this. Lola, however, looks unimpressed.

When the entrees came, the girls had already started up repetitive conversations – ones that Tweek and Craig didn't listen too hard for.

Before they knew it, the girls were dragging them into the conversation. "Guys, do you know any good jokes?"

Tweek and Craig constricted their eyes. The blonde repeats, "Jokes?"

Lola nods, "Yeah, all four of us can switch off one by one."

The two boys stay dead silent.

Annie giggles, "Uh… I'll start, I guess? Uhm… What did one math book say to the other?"

Craig and Tweek switch off skeptical stares before the latter shrugging, "… Uhm, what'd it say?"

Annie fidgets before whispering a nervous: "… Shut up, I've got my own _problems_."

There's a short silence before Tweek and Lola snort in laughter. Craig knits his brow.

Lola hugs her, "Geez, Annie! That was _so _lame!"

Annie holds her cheeks, looking really embarrassed, "Oh, shut up! You give it a try!"

"Ha, no way, I'm way worse. You go next, Craig!"

"… Me?" Craig points to himself.

Tweek holds in a laugh, clasping his mouth shut with his hands.

"Yeah, any jokes?"

"… What makes you think I know _any_?"

"Just try it! I'd _love_ to hear some from you."

Craig stares blankly over the surface of the table to the bubbling soda in his glass cup. "… What's the difference between the Senator and a large hippo?"

Lola, Annie, and Tweek think hard only to reach no conclusion. "What is it?"

"… One is a large mammal dwelling in or around murky bodies of water. The other is a government official." He takes a bite of his pasta, chewing comfortably, before dabbing his mouth with a nearby napkin.

There is an awkward silence that circulates the table, the ice only breaking when the waitress walked, "Any other requests I may attend to?"

"… Uhm… No, we're fine," Lola answered, lightly waving her off whilst uneasily sipping her drink. Annie twiddles a bang whilst Tweek abruptly bobs his head up from deep thinking.

"Oh – Gah – I _get_ it!" He chuckles before having it die off in the silence. He quietly murmurs before sipping his drink, "… I-I thought it was funny."

Annie clears her throat, "Do you know any, Tweek?"

"… Uhm… No."

"… Err, any more you can share, Craig?"

The stoic raven continues to chew before swallowing and murmuring, "Really? After that display, you want to hear another one?" His voice is monotone. He didn't sound particularly aggravated so Lola nodded. "… _Okay_. Knock-knock."

"… W-Who's there?" Tweek asked.

"Craig."

"Ngh, Craig who?"

'Tucker." Small pause. "Now open the fucking door."

There is another silence before Lola starts to giggle with dimples pressing into her smiling cheeks. "Wow, you're so deadpan and snarky, it's _cute_…" She wraps a hand over Craig's hand and squeezes his fingers twice in flirtation.

Craig is genuinely surprised. "… Oh. Okay." What else could he say at this point?

Tweek and Annie merely hold a: "You've got to be kidding me" face.

Tweek stands up, "Uhm… I've got to go to the bathroom."

Annie lunges up after him, "Me too!"

Lola jumps a little, "Oh, okay! Let me get out of the way for you…" She slides off the seat, Annie shuffling her feet under the table and maneuvering herself over to the edge. Craig does the same for Tweek. Craig and Annie sit back down, maintaining eye contact as they waited.

Craig could be heard slurping his drink from his straw as Tweek and Annie turned the corner for the restrooms. Annie grabs for Tweek's arm. "Uhm, wait!"

Tweek winces under the grasp, "G-Gah, w-what?"

Annie shushes him, "Be quiet, they're right there… I just… Need to talk to you. You're the only one I can turn to now…"

"H-Huh?"

She shushes him again, slinking down the wall to sit. She pats at the space next to her. Tweek glances around and cautiously takes the seat beside her.

"Y-Yeah?"

"You don't like me… Do you? At least, not in a _romantic_ way, right?"

Tweek's voice cracks from the get go. "Gah! What made you think that?"

"… It's _really_ obvious," she murmured.

Tweek rubs at his temple, "I'm… I'm _really_ sorry. I –"

"… Don't be. I'm just as guilty," she cuts off. "You know… When I was first introduced to you, you completely freaked out, like I was some monster… You even hid behind a trash can. I was kind of offended, but kind of happy too…"

"…"

"I liked it when Lola walked me home to comfort me. Because, you know, you_ hid _from me, _behind _a _trash can_," she giggles at the absurdity, pausing between the words. "Your blonde hair always peeked out from over the lid."

Tweek blushes, "… I'm not good with girls. Ngh – S-Sorry…"

Annie giggles, her curls bouncing with her, "It's alright, because I get nervous with guys…" Her smile fades. "It hurt my pride when you did that… But seeing Lola hanging off the arms of _that_ guy… It kills me _more_."

Tweek stops himself from apologizing. "… Annie…"

She looks up at Tweek with rounded, sad eyes. "… Lola _really_ likes him. She's been like this since she caught him reading _The Book Thief _in the library. It's one of her favorite books." She buries her face into her knees. She sighs and perches them back up over them.

The hyperactive blonde remains quiet for once.

"_One_ similarity between the two… And she's head over heels."

"…"

"… She sees his flaws, his bad attitude. She's _fooling_ herself… Like she's writing herself into a fairy tale… And it _hurts_. Because she doesn't deserve a dream, s-she –" Her voice cracks a little. "She deserves something _real_… Someone who really likes her back…" She expertly holds back tears. "… Tweek?"

"… Uh, yeah?" he looks off nervously. He didn't know how to handle a situation such as a person on the verge of tears. _Fuck, do I tell her a joke or something to cheer her up?_

She looks straight at him, "You like Craig."

_H – H – H – H – Huh? _Tweek inhales in a ton of oxygen, hyperventilating almost. "H-Huh?"

She holds a devious grin yet her melancholy's still spread across her face, "… Wendy and Bebe told me… But I could already tell."

"…" Tweek's lips are sucked in so far into his mouth that only an indented line can be seen.

"You know, you're like me… You like your best friend."

"… W-Wait, y-you l-like –" Tweek is wheezing. _Fuck, I need a hot espresso topped over a scoop of vanilla flavored gelato with some – Shit! SHIT! What's it called?_

She giggles when he stutters. "Yes… I…" She sucks in a breath. "I like Lola."

Tweek had only one thing in his mind then:

_A-Affogato – It's called Affogato._

* * *

Tweek is seen awkwardly strutting back to the table. Craig slides out for him, "What took so long?"

He takes in an exaggerated inhalation, "… Had to shit a lot." He echoes the last part in panic, "_Lot_."

Lola wrinkles her face in disgust and gently moves her chocolate fudge sundae away from her.

Craig looks dumbfound. "… That's… Just great," he muttered in sarcasm.

Tweek nods fervently before sitting down and staring horrified at the idea of the whole love rectangle he had gotten into. "C-Could I have a coffee?"

"Sure, have some of mine," Craig calmly offered.

Tweek chugs it down, the hot liquid burning his throat but not hurting enough for him to start caring.

It didn't take a genius to realize something was up. And Craig, having something called common sense, detected it right away. "… You okay?"

"… UH-HUH." He begins to feel a little more hyper with the caffeine flowing through his veins. The empty glass cup begins to chatter over the table's glass surface.

Craig drearily asks, "… Did you snort some of the white powder in the restrooms again?"

Tweek answers suspiciously fast. "NO."

He seemed skeptical at best, "Uh-huh. And the worst thing that could happen is that you die from it."

Annie walks over, her face same as before, her quirky lips twisted into a smile. But Tweek knew that the tips of her bangs were wet for a reason – She had been splashing cold water on herself over the sink.

* * *

After the date was finished, coupled with its awkward silences and its flirty giggles, the four split into two pairs of two. Lola and Annie began to walk home hand in hand, whilst Craig and Tweek turned the corner.

Craig begins talking, "Dude, seriously. _What the hell_? I told you that the white powder in the bathroom is for applying over the _pits_. _Stop_ snorting it."

Tweek has the question go over in his head: _Should I tell him the truth or go along with him thinking I have a Talcum powder snorting addiction? _It didn't take long until Tweek's bad logic took a toll on him once more. _If I tell him, he'll find out Annie likes Lola, therefore finding me hopeless since I don't have a girlfriend, and then he'll employ an army of gnomes to kill me and my underwear in my sleep since I'm a liability in his high school reputation and then he'll elope with Lola, therefore endangering his educational prowess and future careers whilst possibly impregnating a brunette to have four kids with and to spend a lifetime unhappily in a hapless apartment suite with rent payment going to an obese Puerto Rican guy with three wives and an account made for illegal arms dealing – All while the army of gnomes take the U.S. president hostage to ransom a multi-billion dollar deal to make sure all future kids of the world no longer have a stable and clean supply of underwear – _"Gah – I-It was my bad…"

"Your mom saw that white stuff on your collar and thought –"

Tweek twitches, "I know, I know – People think I snort crack…"

Craig chuckles. He stops to ask abruptly, "Can I go to your house again?"

"S-Sure… Ngh, we can rent a movie…"

"Cool."

"Hey… You mind telling me a j-joke again?"

"… You know, normal people would assume that no laughter equaled unfunny."

"Ha, you're not normal though," Tweek laughed. "A-And neither am I."

Craig's eyes widen before narrowing once more. He smiles, just barely, and it didn't seem to be out of amusement this time. "… Christophe told me this one. If you don't laugh, blame him. What do you call a person who speaks multiple languages?"

"Multilingual?"

"And someone who speaks three languages?"

"Err, trilingual?"

"… Now two."

"B-Bilingual."

"One."

"Uhm… M-Monolingual?"

"No, they're called _Americans_." Craig doesn't wait for the reaction, immediately looking the other way after having delivered the punch line.

It slowly sinks in and Tweek sneers at the monotone delivery. "I-It's funny."

Craig seemed skeptical, but amused enough at the positive reaction nonetheless. "… You tell me one."

"O-Okay!" He clears his throat and nervously begins his lines, "There are these guys, a Jew, a Chinese dude, a Jamaican, and a Frenchman, and they're all on this plane. The pilot's shot dead and… Uhm… T-They have to jump off before they crash… Because you know… Ngh, they'll die if they don't…"

Craig raises an eyebrow, "… I'd think they'd die regardless. Are they at least over an ocean?"

"… Uhm… Uhm… GAH! T-Too much pressure! I fucking forgot! No, wait… Oh, uh… I-I think they all die… Yeah. That's the end… I think… Y-Yeah."

Craig stares a bit until nodding, "I get it, it's funny because the ending's so anticlimactic, right?"

Tweek nods doubtfully.

"I know a similar one. See, there's this crazy blonde with a shotgun and a deaf limo driver, and they're –"

Tweek didn't hear the punch line.

Craig repeated it for him and the busy honks in the street continuously distracted the blonde.

After finally hearing it, Tweek still didn't get the joke. He still laughed.

* * *

Please read and review! I appreciate any critiques and comments~ ... As long as they're kept flamer-free.


	11. A Spanish Soap Opera

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Here's an extremely late (BUT SUPER LONG) update!

* * *

**C. Wintergreen: **Oh no, no! I don't find your reviews offensive at all! In fact, you're my favorite reviewer! :D No, the only review I found offensive was the PM, the one who privately messaged me, calling my fan fic a "_stupid, over-rated, fucking high school drama shit-cake_." The other review I referred to (the one that implied I was writing a tragedy) was actually the review right before yours on Chapter Nine. I mean, you can check up on it if you'd like, but I wanted to clarify that by no way did I find your reviews in any way offensive, only encouraging. Thanks for all the feedback you've given me and here's the update! :D I'm sorry to have kept you and others waiting.

* * *

Annie found out on Thursday just how awkward Tweek could be.

"Tweek," she called out, and Tweek's head immediately wrenched in her direction with visible paranoia. They had coincidentally met at the middle of the hall. Annie wiggled her toes within her UGG boots and smiled up at him, "Do you mind meeting up with me at lunch today? I mean, if you can…"

Craig caught up with Tweek just then, and when he made eye contact with the short and quirky blonde, Annie, he noticeably darkened in facial expression. Annie grew flustered at the antagonistic gaze and glanced away.

"S-Sure, what is it?"

Annie locked eyes with the antagonistic Craig once more and she teased him, coquettishly answering Tweek with a coy tap to the shoulder, "What? Can't a girl talk to her boyfriend during lunch?"

Tweek's eyes sunk as he felt Craig grumbling from behind him. "You wouldn't want to keep her waiting," he monotonously replied, laced with poison in each individual letter.

Annie noticeably brightened up. _Why did that cheer me up?_

* * *

They were leaning up against a fence near the tennis court.

Annie sat over the bleachers, elevated over the nervous Tweek. "That Craig… He doesn't really like me, does he?"

He bit down over his palm, "… Let's not talk about him…"

_That's the calmest I've ever heard him. _"You… You don't want to talk about _that _day?"

He mutters quietly, "Uh… I mean… Uhm, I kind of do…" He relaxes his shoulders and turns at her with wide eyes, "I-I mean, _y-you_ and _Lola_?"

Annie seemed offended at the remark, "So… You and Craig make complete sense?'

"…" _She has a good point._ "S-Since you want to get personal… Ngh – What made you like her?" His voice escalated in volume at the question.

"Shush!" Annie stared about with a worried look, "Do you want to out me to everyone? … You're being too loud."

"I… I'm feeling pressured… W-We don't have to talk about this right now…"

Annie stares down at the pitiful looking Tweek curled against the fence. She sighs quietly as she thinks things over and over. And before she knew it, she murmured, "… I lied." With the realization of her small, compulsory reply, her breaths go in and out raggedly. _I can stick to the facts…_

He could feel all the blood rushing to his head as his heart rate increased, _Lied? Lied about what? What did she lie about? _He had a dozen (albeit repetitive) questions in his head but it all came out with a dumbfound "Huh?"

Although unwilling, she told the truth, "… I'm not one hundred percent sure whether I like her, whether I like Craig, or whether I'm just jealous about the idea of having a boyfriend in general," she stares at him. "It's obvious you like him… So why are we supposedly dating?"

_Girls are so confusing! _"… You _might_ like Craig?"

Annie closes her eyes. _Did he even hear the rest of what I said? _"Hm… Maybe."

Tweek insisted with the question despite Annie not being keen on the topic, "Agh – Y-You don't know?"

_People aren't that simple… _Annie felt interrogated and decided to push the subject matter away, "You're being too obvious."

"I am? Ngh – A-About what?" His shoulders move back down. "…. I-I'm being rude. S-Sorry, I-I need coffee to calm me down."

Annie smirks at the apologetic remark, "You're cute… Craig's a jerk not to notice how cute you are."

_… He called me cute a couple times. _"… He notices… I-I think."

"… Then what's he doing with Lola?"

He goes blank for a while as a small light begins to flicker in his head. "What the fuck _IS _he doing with her?"

Annie giggles, "I just asked that."

And the light goes dead once more, Tweek's sudden confidence flickering away with it. "… Oh, wait, I do know…"

"… Hmm?"

He throws his head painfully back against the fence, "Gah! Wait, w-we were on your story right now!" He bobs it back and forth, hitting himself over and over with the fence shaking and rattling. "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!"

Annie waves her hands back and forth, "I-It's okay, it's okay! I can share my life story any other day; don't leave me hanging with yours!" _School drama... Both annoying and interesting to hear about. _"… So what is it that you know?"

"… Well… L-Lola went to Craig's house this one time… A-And she left him a note… Guh, b-but I ate it."

_He ate it? … I've heard rumors that he snorted Talcum powder and that he would chain-saw lawn gnomes on sight, but not eating paper… _Annie couldn't follow him, but she didn't want him to go into a flurry of tics anytime soon, "And? AND?"

"… Well, I rewrote the note… And Craig l-loved the note," Tweek miserably whispered.

She pried a little, "What did it say on the note?"

"Gah – Fluffy shit, I-I don't know!"

"And… He liked it?"

"Craig told me it was the first he heard something l-like that… So he _really _liked it."

"Only problem is – He only _likes _Lola because of _that _note."

Tweek nodded, "H-He _loved_ Lola's note."

"… But Lola didn't write the note."

"Yeah, but –" A gear begins to rotate once more in his brain as cobwebs are pulled apart from the foreign motion.

"Lola didn't write the note."

"… And…" The cogs mesh together and lock into place to spin in mechanical harmony.

"_LOLA_ didn't write the note. You did."

And everything made sense in the world.

* * *

Tweek continuously smashed his head against the wall of the gym, "TOO. MUCH. PRESSURE." And he'd repeat the process.

Annie walked up with a cup of coffee, "It's easier than you think, Tweek. Just tell him the truth. The dreaded T word that has the world spin round and round?"

"B-But, he likes Lola!"

_And back to Square One. _"… Tweek, go over to his house today and everything will work out."

"I-It's not like in those movies – This-This is definitely –"

Annie pushed the coffee under his nose. "… C-Can't I try tomorrow?" Tweek whimpered.

Annie began to slowly understand why Bebe had complained about his cowardice at the girls' lunch table. She jerked the coffee's alluring steam out from his face.

He groaned, "I-I can't do this today… B-Besides, he said that he has to meet up with Lola today…"

"… Ugh, Tweek…" Annie caved and handed him the drink before face-palming multiple times. "Don't you want to spend your time with your crush?"

"Ngh – What could I do differently? … W-We always waste time just w-watching bad movies together."

"… There's beauty to love, Tweek~ You can do so many stupid things and make it count when you're with your love."

"T-That's deep," he whispered, sighing into the coffee.

She chirps up, "Yep! Lola and I would watch cheesy soap operas together. I-I have bad luck with guys… So she'd comfort me by giving me her big spoon and a whole TUB of ice cream! And… For some odd reason, I'd be dumped on a rainy day – I'd take a long dramatic walk in the rain to her house… And she'd always let me in."

_Craig always lets me in. _"…" _I usually don't let him in my house… But then again, I guess we weren't that close to begin with. _The conversation was turning a strange romantic turn, and immediately he murmured on reflex, "It rains in South Park?"

Annie smiles at him and gives him a light peck on the cheek. "Try it with him. He'll have his door open for you."

Tweek blushed and placed a hand over his cheek. "Y-You think so?" _I guess… I could try._

* * *

It was Friday, two days before Heidi's party on Sunday. The week had moved on abnormally fast with Craig managing to ditch all his previous detentions whilst accumulating more.

It was basically another regular weekday for the lot. Craig slept all his classes, the teachers having given up on making him behave. Only one teacher dared to crack the impossible by tapping on him with a ruler and calling him "Little Miss Sleeping Beauty." That teacher promptly got a middle finger (accidentally) jabbed up their nose. After stopping the bloody nose from running, the teacher had sent Craig had to tediously march down to the Dean's Office once more.

Tweek attempted his best to stay calm even with all the gnomes staring directly at him from over the windows, only breaking twice during the whole duration. Twice being a surprisingly small amount of panic attacks for Tweek, the teacher managed to call him out after class and congratulate him. Token passed notes and texted the whole time whilst managing to soak in at least a mediocre percentage of the lessons. And lastly, Clyde daydreamed about football and scantily clad cheerleaders. He'd be copying the class notes from Kevin for the millionth time and counting.

It was now lunchtime, Craig and Tweek spending it together once more. Clyde was currently making out with Heidi under the bleachers whilst Token was fervently searching for an overdue library book.

They sat over the concrete rim of a raised bed garden, Craig with his legs crossed and Tweek with his legs hanging over the edge. The raven, having skipped eating once more, was sucking on a lollipop lazily whilst wearyingly studying for an exam in sixth period. Tweek munched on a greasy hamburger, stacks and stacks of empty coffee cups amassing, practically polluting the plants about him. "It's quiet without them," Craig blandly stated while looking down at his textbook. He's doodling over on the corner of a page with a Sharpie.

Tweek glances up, "Gah – C-Clyde'll be bragging later about how far he'll be getting with Heidi…"

"… And I'll be there to _pretend_ to care," Craig dismissed. "Hey, is this exam easy?"

"U-Uhm… Hit and miss…" he murmured unsurely. _Probably bombed it._

Craig only strains his eyes in response, "… Eh." He puts down the textbook over his lap to scribble some more doodles. He twirls around the lollipop with his tongue, slurping before pushing it back to the side of his teeth. "Too sweet."

"Agh… What flavor is it?" Tweek asks curiously, staring at the white stick jutting out from Craig's pale lips.

Craig has a twisted gleam to his eye as he gently pulls it out. He twiddles the stick between his thumb and his index finger before putting it before Tweek's face.

His nose wrinkles, his face pulling back from the candy like it was a demonic apparition. "A-Ah, w-what the hell do you want me to do about it?"

"You wanted to know the flavor," he states blankly.

Tweek nods and admits, "Y-Yeah."

"Well?" He spins the lollipop.

A sound of a cricket goes by when Tweek's brain begins to process. "… A-Ah, no thanks! Ngh, that's way too much pressure!"

Craig shrugs, clicking his tongue in minor displeasure, "Whatever."

The blonde furrows his eyebrows, "Y-You know… You can still just _tell_ me the flavor…"

"Yeah, but I'll have to know what it is. All candy tastes the same to me." He pops it back into his mouth, rolling about over his tongue to melt down the hard, round candy.

_Smart-ass, _Tweek thought to himself. He hops off the edge to grab another coffee from the dispensers. When he hops back on the concrete block, Craig stares over emptily. "… W-What's up?"

"… I'm just wondering, but… Do you feel awkward around me since that incident?"

_Incident? _"Are you referring to the _kiss_?" Tweek makes sure to whisper the dreaded K word.

Craig turns back to his book and nods once.

He chokes on his own spit, Craig sighing before patting him over the back. Briefly after recovering, Tweek immediately chugs the coffee, crushing the cup in his coarse hands. "… W-Well… I-I think I've always felt weird around you…"

Craig flexes his jaw muscles, swiveling the lollipop freehand. "Hey, you mind walking with me to pick up my little sister after school? She told me her early out was cancelled for today."

Having been interrupted all of a sudden, Tweek's face lunges up as he uncomfortably moves his head back and forth in a motion similar to that of a socially awkward nod. "Oh – S-Sure, man! I walk with you regardless…"

Craig's eyelids drooped a little, his yellow orbs staring back silently, "Thanks. I'll treat you to the arcade afterward."

Tweek smiles, "You know you don't have to, dude."

He nips over the tip of his tongue as he bites down on the lollipop. "Too bad, it's my treat," Craig snapped. Despite it being a token of gratitude for the agreed company, it didn't sound all too charming or genial. He pulls out the soggy white stick of the lollipop, bending it three times between his fingers and flicking it behind him.

Tweek widens his eyes and makes a timid gesture, scrunching up his bulky shoulders. His shirt rises up a little, exposing more of his bare stomach to the cold. Craig looks over at the uncovered midriff and slides his textbook off his lap, hopping off unto the ground. He turns toward the blonde, his standing height reaching a little taller over Tweek in his seated position. The blonde jerks at the swift transfer, staring down at the stoic raven with baffled eyes. "Gah! W-What's the problem?"

Craig moves up his palms to place over Tweek's torso, fingering his buttons idly as he muttered, "You still don't know how to properly fasten your shirt." He unbuttons the shirt quickly enough, a line of skin being visible in a glance. He subtly loops his fingers over a button whilst tracing naked skin, Tweek steadfastly growing confused over Craig's recently more blatant actions.

The tickle of a finger there and Tweek holds in a moan. The brush of a hand here and Tweek bites down on his tongue. The more hands Craig eagerly seemed to put on him lately, the more Tweek would helplessly grumble in uncertainty. When Craig finishes buttoning the last one, the blonde could only sigh in relief. _He's been more touchy-feely nowadays… I mean… Uhm… _

He unexpectedly leans into Tweek's face, tapping foreheads. The black bangs sweep gently back as they bump against Tweek. Tweek snorts (out of lack of oxygen) when he sees the other's lips part.

_He's cheating on Lola – He doesn't even like me – He's going for a kiss – _"GAH – Let's go to the library!" Tweek screamed abruptly, pushing Craig back as he hopped back down over the pavement. "I-I need to return a book!"

He scratches the back of his head idly in flabbergast. "… Alright," Craig murmured. "Actually, I have a book I have to return."

The two boys walk over to the library, stopping momentarily at their respective lockers to take out their books. "What's the title of your book?" Craig asked, leaning against the locker with his book at his side. Tweek clacks his sticker clad, dented locker open, shuffling against a massive pile of loose papers.

Tweek stutters, "O-Oh, it was the _Iliad_… H-Had to read for it Literature class."

"Did you read it?"

"Nah," the blonde answered honestly. "I just checked out the _Cliff Notes_ for it…" He slips out the thin, yellow paperback from under heavy textbooks. The booklet is mangled, the cover bent and very noticeably coffee-stained.

Craig almost winces from the sorry sight of the abused book.

Tweek closes his locker, groaning when it jams from the flooding of papers. He steps back, kicking at it furiously with his graying converse. When it finally closes, the locker seems to have an additional set of dents to it along with some corners of a notebook jutting out from the bottom edge. He faces back toward Craig, "Ngh – What about you? What's it called?"

"It's called _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_. Has to with a mental institution and a manipulative head nurse; It carries heavy themes of freedom and confinement, since the majority of its patients are there voluntarily. But overall, it's a power struggle, the protagonist rebelling against the antagonistic Nurse Ratched as well as the rest of the ward… And –" Craig stops explaining once Tweek looks at him dumbfound and pained. "… I like the book," he shortened.

"Gah – T-The title sounds cool," Tweek uneasily muttered under his breath. _No wonder I'm doing badly in Lit. _

Craig smirks, pushing back from the locker to walk down the hall. Tweek follows shortly after.

When they make their way into the library, Tweek feels as if he's in a foreign land, thousands and thousands of books littering the cramped looking bookcases. They stand tall, looking slightly wobbly as if the aging mass of wood could topple at any second, crushing an unfortunate bystander with its weight. _I-I never liked books…_

Craig places a hand in front of Tweek, "Give me your book, I'll return it for you."

"Th-Thanks. Ngh – I'm going to browse then…"

The stoic raven takes the two books, standing in line behind two other students. The counter has a neat stack of books over it, the librarian looking grim over the computer while a plucky T.A. handled the check outs and returns.

Tweek stuffed his hands into the pockets of his low-riding jeans, the brown belt slapping over his hand as he pushed them down. He glances around the shelves, staring at the various tags the books had stuck over their spines. Various colors litter each row, not a single shade of the spectrum being omitted. He fingers the row, liking how the tip of his finger drummed over each bump, like that of a washboard. When he reaches the last book of that particular row, he pulls it out, dully peeking at its contents. Tweek's eyes skimmed it, flipping to the first chapter:

_"What do you mean my mom left my dad for another lady?"_

_"… I mean she's as straight as a rainbow, dumb-ass. GEE~EEZ."_

Tweek closes it. He shrugs off his thought, picking up another book from the shelf. He reads the summary at the back of the book:

_Casper was constantly mocked for various things. Hair (which was often quoted to resemble the butt of a duck) was one of them. His accent (which was an unusual mix between French, American, and Russian) was another. His name, for one thing, was the butt of most movie references. However, despite being so unlikeable to the company about him, someone managed to grow fond of him. And his name was Alec. _

_Alec was constantly complimented for various things. Hair (always neatly combed and silky jet black) was one of them. His accent (a gentle mix between English and Scottish) was another. His name, oftentimes, was considered smooth yet well complemented with the rigid C. However, despite being so likeable and charming to everyone about him, he coldly rejected their company save one's. And his name was Casper._

Tweek puts the book back into its spot, a little more paranoia blending into his face with each growing second. He stares blankly at his shoes before removing another book from the shelf. He flips to a random page:

_She liked the taste of guys' lips as well as the rigid embrace of their strong arms. But the taste of that cherry lipstick and those finely manicured fingertips digging against her back drove her crazy with – _

Tweek's face turns beet-red as he throws the book against the shelf and heaves into his sleeve, using it as makeshift paper bag. He grabs at his hair, wheezing a little before turning to the books one last time. _Okay, okay, it's just a coincidence… _He crosses his toes from inside his shoes whilst turning to the first page in a newly removed book. _Fourth time and God's trying to tell me something… _A sigh. _Or it's just those fucking gnomes again._ With that, he peers down at the page:

_With each thrust, he found himself giving into the animalistic lust. It was so tenderly yielding, yet so forceful and desperate. He wantonly groaned into the sheets under him as the bed creaked with each passionate blow._

_This love had gone far past platonic. _

Tweek abruptly closes the book, looking as if he were to throw up over the carpeted floor any time soon. _Is porn even allowed on school campuses? _Shrugging it off after what seemed like an eternity of disturbances, he stuck the book innocently back into its place before glancing at the section he was in: _LGBT. _He ponders for a second. _What the hell does LGBT stand for? – Wait a minute… Oh. _With the revelation, Tweek awkwardly walks over to Craig who argued with the T.A.

"Look, asshole, I was _two_ days overdue, what's this six bucks shit?" His fingers drum over his book, Tweek's _Cliff Notes _being successfully returned.

The once perky looking T.A. sighs, looking like he's aged twenty years over this short exchange; he runs his hand over his face before smiling noticeably forced. "I'm sorry, but the computer dates that it's already been over a month since your due date has elapsed."

"_Fuck_ the computer."

The T.A. smiles once more, the corner of his mouth twitching visibly, "I'm afraid that's not physically possible."

Craig flips up two middle fingers. "I say it's been _two_ days."

The smile fades. "… Look, man, you either pay or you won't be able to return the book. And before you know it, the book's going to be years overdue and you _won't_ be graduating."

Craig flips him off a second time. "I'm not paying six fucking bucks when it should be around forty cents. And _believe_ me. I'm returning this book."

The T.A. looks peeved, "Pay the six bucks. What, you so poor you can't afford it, you hillbilly redneck?"

Craig monotonously proposes, "Look, let's avoid the trouble. I return the book… And I don't _shove_ this fist down your _throat_." He has no sign of reconciliation in his body language despite having suggested it.

Tweek grumbles to himself. _Hell if that's avoiding trouble…_

"… I'll say it again, Craig. _Pay_ the fine. You don't want to meet up with the dean again, _right_?"

"Like I give a damn."

" You like things nice and boring… Isn't that right, dick-face?"

"_Damn straight_." Craig's eyes glow predatorily. He slams the book down on the wooden counter, causing the computer's keys to rattle. Luckily enough, the grumpy librarian was getting a drink, away from the ensuing argument. The neatly stacked books are moved slightly out of alignment. "The book's _returned_. And now – I walk away." True to his word, Craig walks away, Tweek looking astounded.

Tweek sighs one of relief. _Thank God, we should be able to manage at least ONE day without getting in – _

A book slams against the back of Craig's head, knocking him forward three steps. When Craig looks behind him with a poker face, he sees the T.A. slyly grinning.

"_Six _bucks or _no _pudding, kid," he remarks.

"…" Craig calmly walks up to the counter. He digs into the pockets of his sweater. "… I have forty cents."

"… Are you deaf, man? I said six bucks."

Craig calmly looks down at the pocket change clasped in his right palm. He brings it up over the counter and juggles it, shaking the coins around. "… Forty cents," he repeats.

"_Six _Washingtons; _six_ United States dollars; _six hundred _pennies – I'm serious; get your ears checked."

"… You first." The coins stop jiggling in his palm.

And with that, Tweek lunged over at the counter to stop the permanent nerve damage the stoic raven was causing the T.A.

… And with spare change too.

"Shit, SHIT! GAH! That d-dude's ears aren't coin slots, C-Craig!" Tweek was violently wrenching off Craig's arms whilst the raven callously beat at the T.A.

The T.A. screams on the floor, "FUCK – There's a nickel in my _ear_ – There's a FUCKING nickel!"

"It's a dime," Craig corrected, his voice far too calm and unsuited for the violent actions he was partaking in.

And inconveniently enough, the librarian walked in at that very instant to see a dark brunette climbed over the counter with all the previously stacked books knocked down over the floor. There was a blonde with a leg over the counter, his arms around the dark-haired boy in an apparent attempt to pull him back from making a successful punch. And her beloved T.A. was partly unconscious, leaned up against the shelves directly behind him as he screamed, "NICKEL! NICKEL!"

Craig and Tweek quickly glance at each other in tranquility and anguish respectively. Craig still has his deadly dimes in his right hand (the evidence for his assault) with his left hand clenched into a tight fist. He innocuously throws the dimes over the counter and folds his arms over each other, relocating from his previous, extremely obvious posture. Tweek stares around in paranoia, looking the same as usual.

She merely mutters quietly to herself, "What the _deuce_?"

The computer falls to the floor, the keyboard being brutally crushed under its weight. Craig and Tweek peer over at it with a second's delay.

Flabbergasted at the sight before her, she spits out, "And just _why_ aren't the books alphabetized yet?"

* * *

The two got to skip some of their 5th period whilst waiting outside the Dean's office, and Tweek rejoiced in that specifically, not being too fond of the cramped spaces in classrooms. Craig and Tweek sat awkwardly among the bench placed right outside, maintaining a comfortable distance away from each other.

The two looked as if they were sustaining their own personal forts in isolated corners of the bench. Craig sat up with his legs zigzagged, looping into each other as he perched his chin on top of an arm. His golden eyes glanced around from one crook of the hall to the other in a terribly aloof fashion. On the contrary, Tweek laid out his arms on top of his thighs while sitting with his legs crossed over the bench.

"C-Craig, _why_, man, _WHY_?" Tweek whimpered as he clutched his forehead in despondency.

"Sorry," he answered dully. "I didn't think you'd be taken to detention too."

"Ngh – Not _that_, man!" Tweek groaned. "Christ! I-I could have just _lent_ you six bucks…"

"… It was _forty_ cents," he stubbornly repeated.

The blonde smacks his head back against a solid wall, "Jesus…" He has a delayed reaction to his now aching skull. _Ouch._

The Dean calls in the two boys to their seats before his desk. "… Hello, _Tucker_," he grumbles the name out as if it were poisonous venom. "And hello, _Twitchy_."

"T-Tweek," the blonde nervously corrected, staring off at a snow globe in the right.

The Dean massages the bridge of his nose, "And to whom do I owe this pleasure to?"

"… The librarian," Craig answered unenthusiastically.

"Of course, tell her that Frank says thanks," he muttered, equally unenthusiastic. "So… Mr. Tucker, I see it's your second visit for today… And I _also _see that you hadn't come in for Detention at Lunch _again_," he grunts.

Craig snorts, clasping his hands in front of him as he places a leg over the other.

The Dean turns to the freak-show beside the callous Craig. "Mr. Tweak… I see you're missing a couple of hours yourself."

_I forgot, _Tweek grumbles to himself, unable to sit still in his seat. He constantly shifts his weight from side to side while fearfully examining the room for gnomes. His nails are also being bitten on.

"… You know, I forgot how different you two were," the Dean mused. "You're _all_ pains in the ass, but at least I have some _variety_ in this damn job."

"That's good to hear. Might as well have _some_ pleasure in your job," Craig said.

"Hmm," he grunts. "Well, I don't think the teachers will be missing you two little balls of sunshine… Why don't you go over to Mr. Willard's room and sweep up the place. I think this is his free period. And – If you don't go over there right this instant, you two will get suspended for a week. How's _that_ for a dilemma?"

* * *

"This place is disgusting…" Craig grumbled as he swept unending piles of chips and dirt into a neat pile at the corner.

"A-At least we're skipping class," Tweek grumbled, kneeling over the filthy ground as he utilized the dust pan.

"You know… I think I prefer this… It's real quiet this part of the hall."

Tweek nods along with Craig's statement, though shivering in mild discomfort. "Y-Yeah… But Jesus, ain't it also kind of creepy how quiet it is?" He peers off at the open door, seeing how awfully empty the halls were when it was class time.

"Broad daylight, dude," Craig replies with a scoff.

Tweek retorts, "South Park snows too fucking much – Gah – It's too chilly for the _actual_ sun to be out…"

Craig, fitted with a face brimming with mild curiosity, asks artlessly, "Do you like this kind of weather?"

"_This _kind?" Tweek laughs a little, "D-Dude, I think _this _weather's the only we see down here."

Craig looks melancholic. "Yeah… South Park's a _shithole_."

The blonde stands up from his spot as he dusts himself off. "I-I like it here though…" Tweek smiles, "The weather kind'a reminds me of you."

Noticing the light flirtatious tone in the other, Craig chuckles, placing his hand and chin over the tip of the broom. "And how?"

"You're… Uh, _cool_?" Tweek nervously answered.

Craig scoffs, "How touching."

Tweek grumbles, his cheek a faint and pale red. He sits over the desk, "N-Never mind that, dude… S-So do you like snow?"

"It's kind of an obligation, isn't it? You have to tolerate snow to live here, at least somewhat," he logically stated.

Tweek inwardly rolls his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, and?"

"Snow's okay… I really like rain though; feels peaceful listening to it," he admitted softly to himself.

Tweek scratches the back of his neck, growing a bit nervous with the setting atmosphere. "I like the sun… Agh – Usually end up freezing my ass off when there's snow."

He points up a finger (luckily not the middle one for a change) toward Tweek's current wardrobe. "That's because you only wear a button down shirt – _which you can't seem to button properly_ – a scarf, and some thin mittens," Craig muttered condescendingly.

Tweek scowled at that. "At least I got coffee."

Craig raises an eyebrow before smirking. "Sure."

The two quietly finish up sweeping the room. Once done, Tweek stretches his back, having handled the dust pan for around half an hour now. "Well, w-we're done now and the room's squeaky clean."

"More so than I'd like to admit," Craig grumbled. It wasn't exactly honorable being able to sweep well.

"Ngh – W-What now?"

Craig looks up at the clock, his eyes squinted in annoyance. "Ch'… Sixth period's barely coming up…" Facing back toward the blonde, he casually extends a hand, "Want to ditch?"

Tweek slaps it down with some enthusiasm, "O-Okay… Don't you have an exam though?"

"Eh, I'll do a make-up first thing Monday."

"Craig… Are we going to watch a movie or leave for the a-arcade? … Wait – Uhm, actually, can I go to your house?" He blurts out the chat he had with Annie, "I-I mean, it's not raining… And you p-probably don't have – Ugh – _Tubs_ of ice cream… But…"

"What?" Craig looked confused. "There's an ice cream parlor near the theatre."

"Ngh – N-NEVER MIND!" He shouted, embarrassed. "MOVIE OR ARCADE?"

_… What? _"Whichever, it's your choice," he suggested politely despite his voice tracking no form of emotion once more.

"Uhm, eh, uh – I-I call an action movie." He snaps his finger at the memory of a recent commercial flashing through his head, "Heard there's one called _Adrenaline Gunner _newly out right now."

The raven's tongue practically dripped with distaste and sarcasm. "What an _original_ title – _Deep_ and _evocative_ to boot," Craig sighed tediously before transitioning to a more neutral standpoint. "I guess I owe you one though."

"F-Fuck yeah, I watched through all of _Dirge _for you. Shit was creepy." Tweek shudders in fear at the life-scarring movies that currently came into mind. All of them watched beside Craig in a dimly lit room or theatre too.

Craig looks bewildered at that statement. He explains, "It was just about a man harvesting the bodies of children for his pet dog. It was absolutely ridiculous, not creepy."

_JUST about a man – JUST about a man harvesting kids' corpses to his dog?_ Tweek was stupefied in more ways than one. "D-Dude, Jesus Christ – He chopped up the dog and ate it in the end!" He flails his arms around to add emphasis on the horror.

_No indoor voice. _"He was accumulating pure souls within the carcass of his one and only happy memory – His pet dog. Remember? He wanted to live forever so that he may gain endless chances to reclaim joy, an aspect of life that had been missing for him in particular. However, by doing so, he damned his existence permanently to Earth. He would never gain passage to the afterlife where true release was gained." He makes an epic pause after finishing his plot analysis. Tweek's left eye twitches repeatedly.

"AND?" Tweek searched Craig's face in disbelief, "Y-You didn't find that creepy?"

"Yes… But it was animated by clay figurines; gave it a cute factor." He makes a thumb-up motion, as if that one statement completely negated everything subtly and overtly disturbing in the film.

Tweek could only face-palm repeatedly before going a little dizzy in the aftermath.

After having successfully exited from the window, Craig and Tweek hurriedly made their way to the nearby theatre. Much of the lobby was empty, only a few having the comfort to relax during work hours especially it being a weekday.

"Ugh, we've been in here too much. Let's go to an arcade next time," Craig grumbled, peering about the movie posters hanging high over the giant walls.

"Agh – You just don't want to watch action movies," the blonde muttered. "You got money."

Craig nods, "Yeah, got some in my bag. Why? Do you want popcorn?"

"Uhm, later, c-could we buy the tickets first?" He points over to a small machine.

"Relax; I think we'll only be missing commercials. Besides, not like we'll be able to watch _all _of it. Ruby's going to be waiting." Tweek stands beside Craig as he picked out the times. "Huh… That's weird; there aren't any tickets available for _Adrenaline Gunner_." Inside he was smiling. "Maybe it's releasing later."

"Gah – I d-don't remember the fucking date from the trailer!" Tweek groaned, panicking frantically over the minimal blunder. The cashier raises an eyebrow at the odd sight, looking away with an innocent whistle once Craig intervened with a glare.

"Chill, we'll watch something else," he flips through the available movies. "Okay… This blows."

"H-Huh, what's wrong?"

"There are only shitty rom-com movies out right now," Craig groaned. He fingers the next set of movies, groaning when he sees a whole list of B-list romance tragedies.

"It's okay… W-We can just laugh through it and ditch it at the l-last minute for Ruby," he laughed nervously.

"You do know it's going to be only lovesick couples in there, right?" Craig skeptically raised an eyebrow.

Tweek gulped.

The monotonous boy merely sighed, "Whatever, I'll buy some candy bars so I don't fall asleep." As the tickets dispensed out from the slot on the machine, he walked over to the candy counter to pick out his choices. Tweek pulls them out, embarrassedly sticking them into his pockets.

_Man, I hope nobody from school sees us watching… _Taking out one of the tickets, he pauses to read the title. "_Persephone_? What the fuck is _Persephone_?"

Tweek sits beside a grumpy (well, grumpier) looking Craig, his arms folded with a displeased look gracing his usually blank face. True to his word, Craig had bought a large stash of candy bars despite his dislike for them. It would at least keep the boy awake. "S-So what's this about?" Tweek is currently sipping coffee stored in a giant soda cup and with every sip Craig took a bite.

"… Not too sure, this had a clever-sounding title, although I can't say the plot synopsis was too interesting."

"Gah – W-What'd it say?"

He repeats from memory with a very unenthusiastic, flat tone. "During another business trip, typical American white collar meets a British supermodel in Britain. Sebastian, falling in love at first sight with the homely Persephone, follows her to America. The two, regardless of their culture and intelligence barrier, fall in love though they are unable to receive their parents' blessings. It's _the_ typical romance story between a nerd and a meathead."

"… I-I'll be honest, that sounded retarded," Tweek's eyes are squinted so hard they fall into a flat line.

"It's _unneeded_ to repeat Britain," Craig grumbled.

"I think I already know the ending."

Craig shrugs, "Hm, maybe there'll be a twist… Hollywood's infatuated with surprise twists nowadays."

The two had chosen to sit far in the back, all the way to the right. Nobody would complain once Craig and Tweek began to mock the horrid script and bad acting of the typical melodrama since they probably wouldn't be able to hear. About ten minutes into the movie, Tweek grew visibly older whilst Craig had accumulated more wrinkles above his brow from lifting them up in disdain so much.

_"Oh, a-am I stammering right now?" The pretty brunette from across the screen said._

Craig mutters, "I'm pretty fucking sure you can tell for yourself whether you're stammering."

_"Sweetheart, you sound as scrumptious as always," he cooed (charmingly?)._

_"Oh, I do? And exactly which pastry reminds you of me?"_

_He makes a childish heroic pose which could be considered charming by some if they lacked some of the points required for an average IQ. But then again, he was a freaking supermodel. "Maybe a creamy strawberry cake… Ooh! And it shall be plopped with a small chocolate at the very TOP!" Pointing up toward Canada didn't exactly help matters. _

_She blushes as if the line was charming or intelligent, "Oh? And why is that?"_

_"You love strawberries… And you're a kind person. I thought you'd be some delicacy with a creamy center."_

_Her eyes widen incredulously, "… You remembered our talk! I'd always wanted to go to a strawberry farm…"_

_He chuckles (charmingly?), "Yes, let's go there one day, love, and hope that that one day may be very soon indeed."_

Tweek and Craig make a loud: "Bleh!" The crowd immediately shushes them, Craig flipping them off in the dark.

Twenty minutes fly by and the movie grows progressively worse.

_"Sebastian, I never want to leave you!"_

_"Damn society's norms! I never wish to leave you either!" He throws his hat against the floor (unnecessarily) and runs toward her in a Giorgio Armani suit._

_She begins running as well, throwing her Louis Vuitton shoes off (also unnecessarily)._

_The two finally meet halfway, embracing. "Persephone, please be my prisoner always. I can't bear you leaving for the summers and springs."_

_"I will gladly throw away my life for you," she sobbed._

Craig and Tweek begin to look agitated. The raven, having been finished all the candy bars in a little over half an hour, is staring angrily at the screen whilst tapping his fingers impatiently. _Ruby, please, call me RIGHT NOW. Please tell me school's over for you._

"W-We could l-leave… _NOW_," Tweek groaned.

Craig began to nod until the side door of the theatre opened with a clack. Light began to peek in before it subsequently closed.

The two simultaneously look to the side, the front of the theatre not offering anything better. A bickering couple can be seen entering:

"We're twenty minutes late, baby," the male voice grumbled.

"_Hun_, this is what you get for purchasing the tickets for such a lousy time, I've repeated over and over to consider that we'd be making stops!" She retorted, fluffing her hair as she made their way toward Craig and Tweek's row.

Craig immediately stops breathing normally as soon as the female voice is heard. He could recognize it. And it wasn't a student. It was prissy, uptight, and bitchy sounding – _Fuck. It's Delilah. _His hand thrusts up to pull off his hat, slipping it over Tweek's very bright blonde hair. He pulls Tweek's ear toward his face. He whispers, "Dude, don't look now – But it's one of our school teachers." Despite Craig having successfully kept it on the down low, Tweek was rather the opposite when it came to such circumstances.

Tweek gags on his coffee, snippets of a scream flooding out, before Craig instinctively clasped his palm over it.

"Aw, babe, don't get testy, I'm just real happy since you've got free periods," he apologized.

Craig muttered to himself, _Periods aren't the only fucking thing she's having._

"Don't say I'm getting testy, I _hate _it when you assume that I'm too moody for my own good." She looks toward the screen, "Oh, I've been waiting to watch this – Let's sit in the back…" They seat themselves only two chairs away from the boys, blocking the exit to the aisle, the boys cornered against the right wall of the theatre.

"I knew you'd scream," Craig muttered.

"… D-Dude, we just got off on a visit to the Dean – I c-can't handle m-more pressure; I'm going to' go nuts…"

_Too late. _"Relax; we'll try sneaking past them."

"Eh, d-doesn't she hate you? S-She'll recognize you!"

Craig has a dead stare to him, "… Yeah."

Tweek gulps, "_C-Crap_, we're dead for sure."

Craig whispers, "Don't say that. I'll think of some distraction."

She shushes them immediately, "Excuse me; we're trying to view the movie, because in case you didn't realize – _This_ is a theatre…"

"_Sweetie_, let's not cause _another_ uproar," her boyfriend hissed at her side.

"Don't you _dare_, Sheldon," she hissed back. "That would be _beneath _me." She turns back toward Craig and Tweek to continue her little rant before pausing as soon as she recognized Craig's blue hat atop Tweek's hair. "Wait – Is that hat –"

Seeing her reach out with a hand, Craig moves two panicking hands over Tweek's cheeks before forcing a make-out session. Tweek's eyes are wide open in surprise as Craig tries to impose on his teacher and boyfriend an awkward and disturbing moment. _C'mon, walk away – There are two hormonal, teenage boys tongue wrestling in front of you…_ Slimy tongues are forced into each other's mouth, lips are being smacked against each other, and gratuitous wet kissing noises are made. … And understandably, Delilah and her boyfriend flinch, practically shrinking back to their seat.

"Sweetie, let's change seats," her boyfriend recommended.

"I'm not giving them the satisfaction of exhibitionism," she hissed.

Craig, in an instant, lock lips with Tweek once more, Tweek awkwardly reciprocating. His arms wrap around the stoic raven's back as he's pushed against the seat. Craig ghosts over Tweek's jaw line when they break for air, moving down the blonde's slim neck and showering it with kisses. Tweek's hands are currently occupied with pushing Craig's sweater up the waist, revealing more of the defined muscle of his stomach and the slimness of his back.

He's looking hard against the screen, his eyes unblinking in true horror, "Sweetie, please?"

She stubbornly looks over at her boyfriend with a glare, "Just because they're getting frisky doesn't mean we have to relinquish good seats. Let _them _relocate to a love motel because I _refuse_ to let them win. Children this century _thrive_ on grabbing others' attentions like this."

Sheldon is on the verge of a breakdown, "Deli-bunny, you don't have to be so _dramatic_ about it. I can't concentrate on the movie."

"Sheldon, we've been over this, I don't like the words _dramatic, emotional, _and _testy _when describing me." She wagged her finger at him like the dutiful, naggy teacher she was.

As Sheldon sighs, Craig and Tweek grow evermore nervous. _… Okay, seriously… Who the hell names their kid Sheldon?_

As prideful and stubborn Delilah was, even _she _had limits on what she could stand. With the next action, she had all the reason to flee the building. Craig had boldly forced a palm down the loose pants of Tweek, groping inside with the belt being expertly unbuckled at the side (sometime during the middle of all the chaos). Tweek, with a shudder, absentmindedly moans a little more into the kiss – Although the shock of such a crude action could be seen painted over his frantic face.

Craig twirls his tongue around inside Tweek's mouth once more; bobbing his head against the wet kiss, before Delilah hurriedly grabbed at her boyfriend's hand and leaves the theatre in traumatized repulsion. She _DID NOT _have to see children in such a compromising position, _especially_ on a supposedly romantic date with her boyfriend of two years.

Her boyfriend is scarred, "Honey-bunny, children of current society terrify me… Let's _never _have kids."

"What garbage are you spewing now, Sheldon?"

"No, _really_… I think puppies will be fine… Unless mating season comes." He gags, "NO, let's just have _one_ puppy."

"Let's have you lay down for you a bit at my house," Delilah advised.

Craig and Tweek continue the kiss a little longer after their departure, sliding their hands over each other's waists before abruptly breaking when the audience broke into a laugh track at the rom-com.

They awkwardly move a little farther apart from each other after the embarrassing deed of making out in front of a teacher. Tweek, a stone lodged in his threat, whispers, "W-We should just g-go…"

"Yeah," Craig sighed, his heartbeat thumping hard against his chest. "I-I'm sorry – I wasn't thinking."

"…" Tweek would normally say that it was okay and that it was nothing, but this specific moment didn't seem suited to such a response.

The two awkwardly made their way out of the dark theatre – _Oh, those poor un-expecting viewers_ – Before going to the bathroom.

* * *

Tweek is splashing water over his warm, reddened face as Craig washed his hands for a logical reason. When Tweek makes the fifth splash of cold water against his face, Craig speaks up, his voice noticeably nervous: "… _U-Uhm_… Why weren't you wearing _anything_ under your pants?" He currently waited against the wall whilst holding each of their backpacks.

There is an extremely awkward silence, their MOST awkward yet.

When Craig had reached into – _For lack of a better word_ – The "_goody bag,_" he had originally expected some form of – _For lack of a better word_ – "Covering." Instead, he had fondled a… Hm.

Being an uncomfortable question to respond to, Tweek took a reasonably long time to respond. He stutters, "G-Gah, it w-w-was the – The gnomes that s-stole m-my under – w-w-w-w-w-w-_WE-AR_… Ah, Jesus…"

Craig scratches at the back of his head. "… Uhm… I'm really sorry…" He slides a tongue over his lips. "Dude… Uhm…" Although his delivery was monotone, his heartbeat was going miles and miles per second.

Tweek couldn't be more embarrassed than now, because during the whole heated distraction they were making, Tweek had gotten – _For lack of a better word – _Rather "stiff" at Craig's provocative touches. _And Craig had felt it firsthand, pulsating under his grasp._

Craig leans back as does Tweek and the two end up meeting eye to eye. "You know, we can forget today ever happened," the stoic raven suggested, staring straight against coffee-colored irises.

Tweek snorts, "I can't. I r-really can't."

"… _I'll_ try to."

Tweek looks up at him with hopeful eyes.

After a while, Craig closes his eyes with a sigh, "… Nah, I can't."

Tweek shrinks back down to the size of a small ant. _This definitely comes second to mother-fucking gnomes._

Craig thinks up another scenario, "You could punch me. Or perhaps, push me down the stairs there. There's a one in a million chance I'd get amnesia and forget this."

Tweek looked flabbergasted and Craig seemed dead serious at that response. "NO! T-Too much pressure if I give one of my best friends a-amnesia! W-What if you forget _e-everything_?"

"Then this will play out like a pathetic soap opera," the raven bluntly huffed. There is no humor in his voice.

Tweek bumped his head back at the wall over and over in frustration.

Craig slides his hat back on; unable to look Tweek in the eye once he finished drying his face with paper towels.

_Oh boy was this going to be a hell of an awkward day._

* * *

As they dined at the ice cream parlor nearby Ruby's school, Craig and Tweek looked solely at the frozen treat before them. It was the most uncomfortable moment for them yet. Tweek asks innocently enough, "W-What flavor?" _It's not raining… And there's no cheesy soap opera on… But… Uh… Close… I guess._

"… Pistachio," Craig answered.

"Cool."

He clamps his lips over the small spoon, savoring the creamy, subtle sweetness over his tongue. "Yours?"

"Coffee," he answered typically.

"Of course," Craig nodded.

"Y-Yeah," Tweek added.

"Movie was bad," Craig stated.

"Yes."

"Stupid."

"Y-Yep," he nods three times.

"Uh-huh."

After a few minutes of caveman-esque speech patterns going back and forth in an unproductive conversation, Ruby finally dialed. Craig's phone begins to vibrate in his pocket; when he picks it up, he answers with a dull: "You done with school?"

"Yeah," she answers, short and bitter.

"We're right around the corner, we'll be there in a second," Craig said.

She chimes, "It's been a second – _Wait_, what do you mean by _we_?"

"A friend's with me."

"Oh~ I _see_! Is it that twitchy freak you're crushing on?" She giggles maliciously.

Tweek hears some of the words she says, Craig's face drastically changing into that of annoyance. The blonde could just imagine the ominous music play in the background as thunder roared.

He snaps his phone close, "Brat."

Tweek could hear a snippet of it. _By "twitchy," is she referring to me?_

Craig stands up, "Let's go, she's there."

As Ruby walked home with the two boys, she glanced up with a blatant glare, "What's going on with you two?"

Craig grumbles, "Just keep walking."

She shrugs, "Okay, okay…" Small pause. "Seriously, did something happen?"

Craig and Tweek shake their head "No."

"Losers; I swear, guys PMS a hell of a lot more than us girls."

"Shut up, Ruby," Craig muttered. _Nosy bitch._

Ruby, bored of the response, ran on forward.

Tapping the raven on the shoulder, Tweek groaned, "C-Craig, I should get going home…"

Craig seemed disappointed.

"I'll see you…" His head was bent down in shame – His manhood having cracked under pressure.

Craig waved him goodbye, "Bye, dude."

Ruby stared at the two from the front, grumbling to herself, "Craig's such a fag-bag."

When the rattling keys were heard from outside, Craig's mom walked over with a batch of cookies, "Did you two have fun at school?"

_Like hell I did. _"Yeah," Craig answered with a straight face. "I'll be upstairs, Mom."

Ruby giggles, "Going to webcam-chat with your boyfriend?"

"Shut up," Craig grumbled, flicking her off. _I don't even HAVE a webcam._

She flips him off with two hands as he walked upstairs.

Craig's mom face-palms, "Can't we refrain from this near the front door at least?"

"Sorry, Mom," Ruby laughed, embracing her mother around the waist, "Lunch was good today!"

* * *

The rest of Friday went by fast enough and before Tweek knew it, it was Saturday – A day before Heidi's hyped party. He went about his same morning routine, and somehow, he managed to end up in front of Craig's porch, as if his feet had magically led him there involuntarily. Tweek stared about the area with wide eyes, "What the fuck am I doing here?"

The door clacks open, and a half asleep, dazed Craig with headphones stood before him with bags of garbage in hand. Craig blinked a few times, his eyes a little droopy, and he nonchalantly murmured, "What the fuck are you doing here?" Although mean-spirited in context, Craig hadn't been expecting company just then. He pursed his lips as he flicked the sleeve off his wrist for the time, "It's barely 7 a.m. in the morning… Do your parents even know you're here?"

"Uh… Uhm…" Tweek had no real reply. _What the hell willed me to come here anyway? … Maybe I can try the "Soap Opera, Ice Cream, and Rain" trick again._

Craig waited patiently, but after a few minutes, he realized snow was being let in. "… It's cold – Just get inside." He yawned, the bags' stiff material crackling as they bumped into each other.

He slides past him aloofly and Tweek could hear the sounds of the garbage lid being opened and the trash bags thrown in. _I hate the rustling sound those bags make… _Walking a few steps in, he slipped off his sneakers and unraveled the scarf around his neck. Craig breathed into his palms, rubbing together his bare hands before closing the door behind him. Tweek looked behind him to see that Craig looked disheveled. His sweater had a white shirt sticking out at the bottom, half of it tucked into his sweatpants. His jet black hair didn't seem brushed – But annoyingly enough, it looked stylized.

Craig taps Tweek over the shoulder, "So… Why are you here?"

"… Uhm…" Tweek attempted to think up a rational reason – But he decided the truth couldn't possibly sound lamer than his half-assed excuses. "I wanted to be with you?" He answered uncertainly; not making eye contact as he bashfully straightened his arms from behind him.

Craig's comatose eyes brightened a little, "Oh? You wanted to hang out? Why didn't you just call me and say so?"

Tweek sighed involuntarily. _Telling the truth CAN be easy… _"Uhm, sorry, I d-didn't want to abruptly – Ngh – Wake you up with a ringtone…"

Craig's voice was cool and leveled, "You'd have to eventually wake me to open the door." Tweek stressed over another legitimate excuse before Craig rose up an arm to stop him. "No need to spaz out in the morning – Let me make you coffee."

Tweek stammered out an enthusiastic: "O-Okay!"

Craig chuckled low and even – It sounded guttural, muck still gathered up from the slumber before.

Tweek, like regular days, waited over the sofa in the living room – Lightening up noticeably when two cups of coffee came. "That was fast…"

Craig cocked his head to his right, "We had pre-ground beans – I just brewed it up."

Tweek liked Craig's cups of coffee – Although they were often too hot to drink immediately. Sometimes, Craig would attempt to keep it lukewarm for Tweek particularly but it ended up tasting stale. "Agh – W-What blend?"

"… You can tell by yourself," Craig answered, sitting over the armrest of the wide sofa. He sips from the edge of the cup, cursing to himself when the hot liquid burnt him. "… Sorry… It's really hot."

Tweek took a mouthful, hating the prickly feeling the molten coffee had on his tongue but swallowing it heartily anyway. He decided to guess, "… Traditional house blend?"

"Bingo," Craig spoke softly, taking another sip.

Tweek smiled to himself – His grin looking a bit asinine with hints of childishness scattered about his dimpling cheeks and squinty eyes.

"Why are you making that stupid face?" Craig grumbled. "Of course _you_ of all people would guess it right."

"This feels kind of… Nice," he whispered to himself.

"Does it? We've drunk coffee together before," he takes another sip – Sounds of steady slurps filling the desolate rooms. Craig's parents and Ruby were still tucked neatly under the covers.

"F-Feels surreal," Tweek said, mirroring Craig's statement from weeks ago.

Craig remembered, lowering his eyelids in a reminiscent state. "It does." He sets down the cup as he instead took a seat right beside Tweek. The leather seat squeaked a little from under him, "What made you want to be with me anyway?"

_You should know by now. _"I… Wanted to – Ngh – Uhm… I…"

The raven listened intently, sighing when Tweek was unable to form a complete statement once more. He rolled his head against the cushion to face Tweek with dejected eyes. His hand moved up to caress Tweek's cheek, sliding down to grip his collarbone – His fingers would drum softly over the arching shoulder to feel at Tweek's thin back. Craig's mouth twitched up into a crooked smile, and Tweek had seen once more – The glory of it all.

"Y-You don't smile a lot." Tweek's stammer and heart rate gave his anxiety away once more.

"I know," he admitted. He pulled the blonde a little closer, and their noses touched, but Craig's lips did nothing but mouth a silent confession. The fingers that fondled Tweek's face so lovingly instead wrapped about his back in a light embrace. His hands lingered at Tweek's back and both their heads complemented one another – Fitting perfectly over each other's shoulders.

Tweek drummed his fingers over the other's spine, sliding it up and down like a repetitive glissando on the piano. Smells of toothpaste and musky morning flooded his snout as he realized how cold he had been outside. His nose was sniffling from the weather he endured to make his way over here.

Tweek began to bask in this single, pivotal moment of chaste longing – Only to have Craig begin to snore in his arms.

Craig, the calculating prince that was known to shake off every trait of feeling – Hadn't managed to stay awake at the one moment where he had finally shown some proper emotion. Tweek could only curse reality thousand fold before falling back over the sofa and letting the silent raven nap over him.

Eventually, he came to, "Hm? Why are you here?"

Tweek groaned, "You son of a bitch – Y-You let me in, remember?"

"No." He gets up from the sofa, his joints stiff with painful cracks enveloping the air. "My back."

_Numb… _"D-Dude, my lap… Y-You slept for the next few hours!"

"So, you staying and having breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us?" He asked casually, scratching his neck as his bangs were brushed away from his face. His pants were baggy and his sweater crumpled.

"Gah – B-Breakfast passed." _It's almost ten._

"When'd you come?" Craig's voice was slurred, his mouth murky from half-drooling.

_Guess he didn't have a good sleep last night if he died on my lap like that. _"Around seven-ish."

"Christ… It's almost ten now… You sat like a paraplegic for three hours just so I could sleep?" Craig brushed aside his floppy bangs with a soft blush on his cheeks.

"Uh…" _Is that bad? … Is that creepy or something? _"Uh… NO! No?"

Craig looks at him unpleasantly with a scowl before yawning, "… Mm, that was a good nap… Want me to make you some coffee?" He goes into the kitchen, still dazed.

Tweek follows him, only to gulp when Craig slid his sweater off. "Y-You already did."

Craig's shirt was caught on the sweater, clinging to the sweater's innards. "Ah, fuck, hate it when this happens." The two articles of clothing slide off simultaneously and his entire back was left bare to Tweek. Oblivious to the voyeur, the raven stood shirtless, trying to pull apart the clothes. The ripples of his musculature were heightened by the bare stream of light that shone in from the window near the cupboard.

The blonde stared with a dumb expression plastered across his quirky face. Drool would have accumulated if his mouth wasn't so damn dry. _JESUS CHRIST. He looks even prettier in the light – Err, good-looking-er._

"What?" Craig muttered, catching him eyeing him. _It's just like in the locker room. _"You're staring at me."

Tweek's unsure what to say, so when he finally attempts to deny the allegation, it comes out with an inflection at the end, "N-Nothing?"

Craig smirks faintly – Devilishly. He teases the other, "What's so fun about staring at a guy's chest?" He faces him, holding the clothes with his left.

_Jesus Christ – H-H-He's unto me! _"AGH – NOTHING! It's so FLAT!" Tweek immediately goes into panic mode, all alarms raised. He even lunges his arms up like he was being accused for carrying illegal drugs and firearms.

Craig perks up an eyebrow. "You want the regular?"

He calms, "Okay."

After preparing another cup for the maniac, they watched TV. Nothing much out of the ordinary for two kids as lazy and unadventurous as Craig and Tweek – They didn't even know how to fight at first and most of the time, they were the kids that wanted no part in the schemes Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny (mostly Cartman though) conjured up, Tweek having left the gang early on for Craig's.

Annoyed, Craig stayed undressed on top, making Tweek uncomfortable each time he grazed the other's skin on the sofa.

Ruby walked downstairs, her hand repeated rubbing her eyes. "He's here… _Again_?" She yawned, her eyes red and swollen. "… Why are you shirtless?"

Craig got up before she could begin her usual parade of slurs. "Want me to fix you an omelet, Ruby?"

"Ooh, could you could add the slices of baby tomatoes Mom used for the salad yesterday?"

"Sure."

Tweek slurped the coffee quietly to himself. _I wish I had siblings._

* * *

Time flew again with the annoying Ruby at their side, hogging most of the TV.

Craig muttered, "Don't you have friends to hang out with, Ruby? It's Saturday."

She countered, "Don't you have any _other_ friends besides Mc-Spaz-a-Tron? Ooh - Tennis!"

Tweek was offended.

* * *

The five of them sit awkwardly at the dinner table, no one saying anything to each other as only chews are heard.

"So… Tweek – I hear you two are much closer than before?" Craig's mother asked.

Tweek chews quietly, swallows, and then opens his mouth to answer.

"And just who told you that, Mom?" Craig interrupted, glaring over at a snickering Ruby.

"Nobody, sweetie… I could just tell," she answered sweetly, clacking her utensil against the plate before dabbing her mouth. "_And _I believe I was referring to _Tweek_?"

Craig relaxes his face in minor scorn as Ruby snorted.

Tweek clears his throat, "Ngh – Craig's really _nice_…"

The whole dinner goes quiet. Even Craig's father, who was on the rather chubby side, stopped eating. "Did you just call my _son_ –" He places a hand over Craig's shoulder, "And I mean the one seated next to me, of course – Mind you, I only have _one _son –" He hiccups before putting on a flabbergasted face and uttering the next word: "– _Nice?" _It was murmured as if rarely spoken around the household; His voice even managed to crack a little.

Tweek stares around, seeing Craig's mother look wide-eyed. "… Uhm… Y-Yeah… J-Jesus, is that considered bad here?"

"N-No, of course not, lemon-drop," his mother answered, having recovered from the shock. "I, as his mother, would never agree with what others say about my Craig-y-kins… _But –_ Well, he hasn't the _best_ reputation…" She makes sure to strain the words. "He's called a _bad apple _by other parents and teachers – A _troublemaker _– A _bad influence _– Disregarding of human emotions and _inconsiderate _– Which is absolute nonsense – Ugh, I would beat them to a pulp if I could – But still! … My Craig _must_ have had done a lasting impression on you, sweetie… For him to be called _nice _of all other positive compliments…"

Craig sighs.

Tweek chuckled nervously. He didn't necessarily find Craig "_nice_"but it was all he could think of at that moment. He definitely liked him enough. "Oh… W-Well… Gah! H-He's grown on me since E-Elementary."

Ruby almost spits out her soup, "He's my brother and he's only grown on me like a _malignant tumor_…" She makes sure to add a little snarky to her deadpan this time around.

"Ruby!"

"What? Oh please, Mom! You all of people should know that better than anyone. He's grown _in you_ – Literally," she huffed.

"RUBY!"

Craig sighs once again, "Why bother going out to dinner when we can have _THIS _all night? – _Every… Fucking… Night_."

Tweek could only smile awkwardly as Craig's parents constantly eyed him up and down at the unusual choice of words describing their son. _I thought MY family dinners were bad…_

* * *

Once the unnerving dinner was done (luckily without its daily occurrence, the "flip the bird" war), Tweek and Craig settled back inside the latter's room. Craig leaned back over his bed, "You staying overnight again?"

Tweek placed his back firmly against the edge of Craig's bed. The royal blue sheets were draped about neatly on the mattress, the wallpaper a lifeless grey, both colors complimenting the stoic raven perfectly. The computer monitor was at a dim corner of the room. Craig's room was nothing too interesting – It didn't hold enough personality to really be able to tell anything about its owner and it was far too devoid of items and decoration. The dresser and bookcase were both a plain white, a few knick-knacks over them although nothing much of concern. Due to such emptiness, the room seemed spacious despite being a rather small room in contrast to Ruby's. The closet was a plain white door against the dead grey and there was a single poster up – One of a dissonant art piece by some no-name artist. It showed a man with a TV for a head, wearing large headphones and holding up a small radio in triumph against a Technicolor landscape of melted clocks.

"Y-Yeah… I guess. I'll call my parents," he flips his open his phone to do so. Once the line connects, it begins to dial. After five rings, it went straight to voicemail, Tweek leaving behind a short message. "Gah – Mom, Dad… D-Don't worry about m-me. I'll be over at Craig's house. Ngh – I-I've already had dinner." He hangs up, looking up at Craig from the floor.

"You twitch around your parents?" Craig asked, merely curious.

"G-Gah – I twitch around everyone."

"Thought it was just me," he sighed.

Tweek shifts his eyes back and forth. _Was that jealousy?_

"What do you want to do?" He forces his eyelids open as he stretches his back. "Still too early to sleep."

"Eh – W-We didn't have weekend homework, so…"

"Movie?"

Tweek slowly reacts in horror as his facial expression animatedly distorts. "N-NO W-WAY! You pick the most fucked-up movies! Christ…"

Craig pouts, "… Fine," he sighs. "What then?"

"There's this game that Annie and I played…"

Craig pretends to look uninterested at the mention of her name but noticeably perks up, "And?"

Tweek jerks in his spot, looking back seconds late to match his face up against the quiet splendor of Craig's. "I-I say one word, and UHM, y-you'd say the first thing that comes to mind."

"… Okay," Craig answered.

"Ngh – We'll switch on and off," Tweek clears his throat. "T-Tomato."

Without taking a breath, Craig mutters: "Tomato."

"…" Tweek stared emptily at the stoic for a while. Tweek – although usually named the most incapable to comprehend simple rules, had met his match. "O-Oh… Okay. Y-Your turn?" _Wait, I didn't play far into the game with Annie to know if that was against the rules…_

"… Okay. Pencils?" Craig offered with a callous wave of the hand.

"… Pencil?"

"..." Craig shows no change of emotion and doesn't exhibit any increased amount of interest for the game. He merely _was_.

Tweek nervously explains the remark, beating the dead horse repeatedly in the most awkward manner. "L-Like, a pencil… Uhm… _One_ pencil… Heh," Tweek answered. "… Box?"

"Box."

"…" _Why did Annie and I find this fun at the time?_

He sighs, "… This is by far the most redundant game I've ever played."

Tweek didn't understand that word yet he could vaguely grasp the idea of it. Soon enough, he had a rare stroke of brilliance, palming the bottom of his fist. "N-No, I think we're supposed to say a different word for each one."

"… Okay," Craig agreed. "Bird."

"Shit," Tweek answered.

Craig has on a minimally disturbed face, "…"

"Beach?"

"Balls," Craig calmly answered.

Tweek holds in the snicker. "… O-Okay…"

"Coffee?"

Tweek grows excited at hearing his most favorite word of all time. "A-Amazing! … Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"No, I mean… _Craig_."

"… Oh…" He ponders for a bit, "Tucker."

Tweek laughs once more, "That's lame, man."

"_Shut up_."

"Jar."

"… What?" Craig looked confused.

"We're still playing… A-Aren't we?"

"How the hell does _Shut up _remind you of a jar?"

Tweek grumbled, "It's your turn!"

"Hm, Annie?" He muttered.

Tweek's eyes drooped a little. _Th-That's dirty! _"Blonde," he muttered. "Lola!"

"Brunette," he countered, having on a faintly snide expression.

Tweek shoved a finger to his face, "Agh – That's not the first thing that comes to your mind! Ch-Cheater!"

"And I'm supposed to believe _blonde _is the only thing that comes to mind?" He rebutted.

"Gah! … Ass."

"Your face," Craig chuckled.

"H-Hey!" He tackles him down and Craig merely laughs at him. Tweek then felt the surge of discomfort, as he realized that he had been pinning Craig down. Feeling a wider range of emotion other than that of fear and paranoia, he quickly backed off to the farthest corner of the room, screaming: "Gah! Fucker! I-I'm sorry, man! S-Sorry!"

Ignoring him, Craig scooted over to him and traced the tip of his tongue against the rim of Tweek's lips before the blonde screamed and fell back. Craig winced when he heard the large "THWACK" against the floor. The blonde groaned in pain at his throbbing head, rolling around on the floor pathetically. "O-Ouch… Ngh! H-Hardest carpet e-ever!" He had tried to avoid the kiss by sliding his entire body to one side.

Craig got up to pull the guy to his feet. _Well, the urge to kiss is completely gone… _They sit awkwardly beside each other on the bed. As Craig swept his hair back, he muttered, "You're so stupid. I've known you for quite a while… I know you have a deficiency when it comes to _not _invading people's personal spaces. You'd breathe down my neck during Elementary… Remember?" Breathing out, he leans back over the bed.

His pride a little wounded, he goes a little defensive, "… You're f-fucking stupid." Tweek knew he had trouble befriending people.

"… _You're _fucking stupid," Craig hissed back.

"Your _face _is stupid."

The raven snarls, "_Coffee's_ stupid."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" _I-I mean… _"… Nu-uh…" Tweek grumbled.

"… Uh-huh."

"Ngh – S-Says the _dumb-ass_ who _actually_ attempted to shove a _nickel_ down a g-guy's ear," Tweek sticks his tongue out.

"It was a _dime_," he lowly corrected.

There is an awkward silence over them, a common trait of their bizarre relationship. And for some unknown reason, they never seemed to tire of it.

Tweek, laughing, threw his head back against the plushy mattress – A delayed reaction over their awkwardness.

"… What?" Craig asked with his hand over his forehead.

"… Want to watch a soap opera while eating ice cream?"

"… Of course _not_," Craig replied calmly. "You're joking, right?"

"Well, it's not r-raining… B-But it'll still be fun…"

Craig was confused, like most of the times he spent with the meandering Tweek, "I only have those Spanish ones on in the Mexican Channel."

Tweek chuckles before clasping a cold hand over the other's pale, warm one. They sat comfortably against the bed and over the carpet, their hands joined in the center. Craig could easily reciprocate any handholding from Tweek, his fingers closing between the gaps of Tweek's meaty fingers. He calmly fondled the rough and dry knuckles of the coffee addict, the other dropping his eyelids at the fond memories of their finger-wrestling sessions.

The raven looked up slowly, his eyes half closed in minor exhaustion. A few strands of Tweek's messy hair framed his light-tan colored face. His coffee eyes were squinting, his cheeks pushed up in a small, gauche smile – It would have looked uncomfortable and forced to anyone, but Craig found its genuine clumsiness endearing. "… _Fine_… I'm in… But if it's any _worse_ than the movie at the theatre, you owe me."

"The rom-com?" Tweek questioned.

Craig recites a line: "Oh, Sebastian, be with me until the Grandfather Clock of the Universe shatters, for only the complete annihilation of time will keep me from your arms." The delivery is dead-pan, not too shabby compared to the prowess of the actors.

"W-Whoa, that was actually in the movie?"

"More or less," Craig shrugged.

The blonde eyed the raven carefully. Craig's face bore no wrinkles – Never having made a proper expression in his lifetime. His skin was smooth and white, Craig being on the pale side. His hair was a stark contrast to his skin color, being jet black. His lips, an extremely pale pink, always seemed to form a noticeable frown or a straight line. His jaw line was unpronounced, being slim much like his body type. "… Y-You got Netflix on your 360, right?"

"… Yeah…" He answered cautiously.

Tweek poses a dangerous question, "… Want to watch the other ones? Urm – H-Heard the director's famous for flops."

Craig unsmilingly muttered, "… Why the fuck not? … Might as well kill the rest of my brain cells while we're at it."

Tweek sniggered, "It'll be dying a-alone."

Craig smacked him across the back with a pillow.

* * *

It was Sunday and Annie spent the morning painting her nails on her desk. _So bored… _She always had a knack for cosmetics, making cute patterns with her nail polish and mixing eye-shadows to make a flattering blend. Annie sits up when she hears the doorbell ring, "Yes? Hello?" When she opens the door, a frantic Lola rushes in, grabbing Annie at her shoulders. She's holding a paper bag, carrying a black garment inside, waving it forward and back nervously as she meets eyes with her friend.

"I really need help! I've never really gone to a party before…"

Annie looked reluctant, "You want _me_ to help?"

"Yeah, I mean, you're so much better with boys…" Her mascara was half-assed, the complete work of an amateur.

"Oh, don't give me so much credit," she closes the door and leads Lola into her bedroom. She fidgets, "I guess I can help you choose an outfit first…" Annie didn't exactly want to make her look any more attractive to the likes of Craig.

Lola smiles both nervously and mischievously. "I already got a dress – Heidi let me borrow one of hers." She pulls out the dress from the paper bag.

"H-Heidi's dress?" Annie pouts and takes the garment from Lola, grabbing it by the shoulders to take a better look. The dress hangs from her grip, creases forming around the chest area with scrunched drapery flowing from the waist down. "Oh, it's cute!" It was midnight black, a bold, sultry, and seductive color, not really matching Lola's conservative personality and fashion style.

"It's one of her high-waists," she nodded. "She said it'd _accentuate_ my legs."

"Oh, you so rephrased that!" Annie laughed, facing toward with a wide grin, "Knowing Heidi, she probably doesn't even know _accentuate _is in the dictionary."

"C'mon, let's not tease her! It's already bad enough she's going out with… Clyde," Lola groaned.

Annie remembered him as the annoying brunette jock. _He cried all the time in Elementary School. _"He's such a wannabe-player… It's sad."

"Don't even get me started on Bebe's tough _I-honestly-don't-give-a-damn _attitude."

"She so wants him, they've been on and off for a while now though." Annie flutters the black dress, only to wrinkle her brow, "… I can see that this is a mini… Since you have such long legs, it'll barely cover your thighs."

Lola blushes, "It's kind of revealing… I wouldn't be caught dead wearing this in public… Well, at least in front of my parents anyway."

Annie swallowed her irritation and placed the dress back down over her bed, "Y-You really want to look good for Craig… Don't you?"

The brunette giggles, "C'mon, as much as people don't admit it, it never hurts knowing that you're looking pretty… Getting a bit of attention." _Especially with Craig's perpetual dead-fish stare… _

Annie smiles a little, "Well, I guess that's true." She sighs before perking up, "Want to see what I'm going to wear?"

"Ooh~ Of course!" They walk over to her closet, sliding it open to reveal thousands of colorful clothing hanging. "W-Wow, my mom would never let me shop this much…" She grabs a random shirt and traces it against her own body. "Ugh, my chest is too flat…"

"Says the girl with the model legs," Annie grouched. _Ever since she started dating Craig, her confidence's been plummeting. _

Lola playfully slaps her against the back, "Oh, shut up, ha! I'd kill for D-cups like yours!"

"They're C! C!"

Lola giggles, "Did I ask what you were getting in math?"

Annie makes an _Oh-no-you-didn't _face before joking sticking her tongue out. "Ah, here!" She pulls out a spaghetti strap, knee-length and a pretty olive color.

"Oh…"

The blonde grows worried at the remark, "You don't like it?" She stares back down at the dress.

Lola sneers, "It matches Tweek's dress-shirt… The color."

"H-Huh?" She glances back down. _It's the exact same tone! … But I just chose the color absent-mindedly._

The brunette taps her on the nose, "You're red like a strawberry, Annie!"

The blonde clasps her cheeks, "Hot…" _But why blush for Tweek?_

Lola stares blankly for a while before beaming, "Put it on! I'll help with your hair then, you wanted waves, right?" She grabs her shoulders and leads her to the bed before running off to grab a comb.

"Lola!" Annie yelled. _Do I like…_

"I'll be right back! Geez, wait a little!"

Annie glared at the ground before plucking one of her hairs and staring at it. _Not a dream. _"No! _No_ way!" _I like Lola… Lola._

* * *

Review please!


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